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HISTORY OF BEVERLY, 



CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL, 



FROM ITS SETTLEMENT IN 1630 TO 1S42. 



BY EDWIN M. STONE, 



BOSTON: 

JAMES M UN ROE AND COMPANY 
1843. 



Eniered according to Act of Congress, 

By Edavin M. Stone. 

In tlip Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 



DIJTTON AND W E N T W P T H M 

Prinlinij-House. 



^'h 



PREFACE 



It is gratifying to perceive that the interest of late av/akened 
in town histories is increasing. Until each town in the Common- 
wealth shall have had its historian, the most accurate history of 
Massachusetts will remain to be written. It is to be regret- 
ted that the work, in which for six months I have been constantly 
engaged, had not been undertaken at an earlier period. Had it 
been written at the commencement of the present century, many 
most interesting incidents, recorded only in the memory of aged 
inhabitants, would have been preserved, which are noAv irrecover- 
ably lost. 

In the preparation of this volume, I have made a thorougli 
examination of the town records, the State arcliives, the collec- 
tions of several historical societies, and a large number of private 
papers, amounting in all to nearly twenty thousand manuscript 
pages. Much information has also been obtained from individu- 
als who were contemporaries of the Revolution, and from others 
whose antiquarian research has been minute and successful. My 
other principal authorities are Hutchinson's and Hubbard's Histo- 
ries, Felt's Annals of Salem, and the Massachusetts Historical 
Society's Collections. But with all my care, it is possible some 
resource has remained undiscovered, though it is confidently be- 
lieved no material documentary fact has been overlooked. 

A considerable number of the following pages will be found 
under the ecclesiastical head. For the sake of unity, this portion 



IV PREFACE. 

of the histor}^ has been separated from that belonging more strict- 
ly to the civil department ; and with which, until the formation of 
the second parish in 1713, it was blended. In preparing the 
ecclesiastical history, I have had access to the parish and church 
records of the several religious societies. From these I have 
drawn such matter only as seemed proper to a work of this char- 
acter, and with that I have interwoven materials placed at my 
command by members of the different congregations. 

It was a part of my original design to furnish genealogical 
tables of all the families represented by the signers of the petition 
for the first church, in 1666 ; but a few days of laborious investi- 
gation convinced me that such a plan was impracticable, and I 
have confined a detailed genealogy to the principal founders of 
the town. 

To Hon. Robert Rantoul, whose long connexion Avith the pub- 
lic affairs of the town, together with much investigation, has 
made him familiar with its early history, I am greatly indebted, 
both for the free use of his manuscript lectures on Beverly, deliv- 
ered before the lyceum in 1830, '31 and '32, and for other very 
valuable assistance. 

To Rev. Christopher T. Thayer, also, I am obligated for vari- 
ous interesting materials, and other important service, as well as 
for a generous interest taken in the enterprize from its commence- 
ment. My acknowledgments are likewise due to Hon. George 
Bancroft and Rev. Joseph B. Felt, of Boston, Samuel F. Haven, 
Esq., librarian of the American Antiquarian Society, at Worces- 
ter, and to m.any gentlemen of this town, who have kindly aided 

my inquiries. 

E. M. S. 
Beverly, 1842. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY 



TOPOGRAPHY. 



Beverly, in Essex county, Massachusetts, is in 
north latitude 42° 36', and longitude 70° 53', west 
of London. It is situated on Massachusetts Bay, 
IQ^Q miles from Boston, =^ and 20 from Newbury- 
port. The bordering towns are Salem, Danvers, 
Wenham and Manchester. It is about 20 miles dis- 
tant from the extreme point of Cape Ann, and 45 
miles from the point of Cape Cod. Its greatest length 
in a direct line from the brick factory at Frost Fish- 
brook, the boundary towards Danvers on the west, 
to Chubb' s Creek, the boundary towards Manchester 
on the east, is about 6| miles ; and its greatest width, 
from Tuck's Point, opposite Salem, on the south, to 
Wenham line on the north, is about 3 J miles. Its 
average length is about 5| miles, and its width 
about 2|. 

The soil of Beverly is yellow loam and gravel, 
mixed with veins of clay and sand. Clay suitable 

* This distance is measured from the City Hall; in Boston, by the 
Salem Turnpike, to the First Parish meeting-house. 
1 



» HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

for coarse pottery and bricks, is found in many parts 
of the town, and the coarse sand from West's and 
other beaches, affords considerable employment to 
vessels in which it is transported to Boston for sale. 
From the beach between Paul's Head and Curtis 
Woodberry's Point, black sand, for the supply of 
stationers' shops, has been obtained in considerable 
quantities. Being somewhat impure, from mixture 
of other sand, it is separated by the use of magnets 
which strongly attract the black. Several quarries 
furnish an abundance of granite for cellar and sea 
walls, fences, &c. ; but, owing to its hardness and 
darker color when hammered, it is less valued for 
buildings than the stone obtained at Rockport. Green 
felspar has been found embedded in other stone. In 
1824, some fine specimens were obtained from an 
excavation made in the lot of land adjoining the 
southerly side of the common, which were distributed 
among most of the public mineralogical collections in 
this country. 

The surface of Beverly is hilly. There is much 
rocky and unproductive land, yielding poor pastur- 
age ; but there is also a good portion of valuable and 
fertile soil, adapted to the production of English hay, 
Indian corn, rye, oats, barley, potatoes, and various 
kinds of vegetables and fruits. Much of the soil is 
also adapted to the growth of wheat ; but the uncer- 
tainty of the crop, resulting from mildew, will prob- 
ably prevent any general attention to its culture. 

The principal wood is pine, oak, walnut, white 
maple, birch and hemlock. There is also some elm, 
cherry, butternut, red larch, balm of Gilead, sassa- 
fras, red and white cedar, with many varieties of 
smaller growth. It is supposed that there is more 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 6 

wood Standing now within the limits of the town, 
than there was thirty or forty years ago, an increased 
attention having been given to its growth and preser- 
vation. Many of the low meadows abound in peat, 
which, at present, is less used for fuel than it will be 
when the importation of wood from Maine, the great 
wood lot for all the sea-ports of Massachusetts, be- 
comes more expensive. 

Of shrubs, many of which are valuable for their 
medicinal properties, may be mentioned the thorn, two 
kinds of dog-wood, fever-bush, alder, high blueberry, 
whortleberry, savin, barberry, sweet fern, elder, 
bay berry, and laurel. The mountain laurel, which is 
here very abundant, is one of the most elegant shrubs. 
Its leaves are glossy and evergreen ; and its flowers, 
which appear in June, grow in beautiful clusters, 
varying in their complexion from white to rose. 
There is also a dwarf laurel familiarly known as 
la?nb kill, bearing clusters of delicate rose-colored 
flowers ; but being common it attracts little admira- 
tion. The barberry bush bears a sensitive flower, 
which, if touched on the inside, immediately closes. 

Beverly is by no means destitute of interest to the 
votaries of Flora. Of the flowers and flowering 
shrubs in the vicinity of Boston, catalogued by Big- 
elow, a very large number have been identified in 
this town by those skilled in botany ; and probably 
many more may be found which have not fallen in 
the way of desultory observation. Besides those 
already named, the Side-Saddle flower, the Cardinal 
flower, so highly prized in Europe, the Swamp Pink, 
the bulbous Arethusa, the side-flowering Scullcap, 
recommended as a specific for hydrophobia, the modest 
Violet family, the Ladies' Slipper, the Marsh Marigold, 



4 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

the Canadian Rhodora, the Crane's-bill and Solomon's 
Seal, the sweet-scented Water Lily, the Autumnal 
and veiny-leaved Hawkweed, the Buckbean and wild 
Primrose, the scarlet Pimpernel, the Eglantine, and 
many others, are here found in great profusion, beau- 
tifying nature, and impregnating the atmosphere with 
a delicious fragrance, themselves 

'^ But bright thoughts syllabled to shape and hue, 
The tongue that erst was spoken by the elves, 
When tenderness as yet within the world was new." 

The fields and woods furnish the whole tribe of use- 
ful " roots and herbs," decoctions of which, when 
seasonably administered, are often a sufficient sub- 
stitute for more formidable medical prescriptions. 

Beverly is well watered by springs and brooks, 
though it cannot boast of any considerable streams. 
Bass or Naumkeag river^ takes its rise near the west- 
ern boundary of the first parish, and after running in 
a south-westerl)^ course about a mile and a half, unites 
at Ellingwood's Point with Porter's river. These wa- 
ters form Beverly harbor. The noticeable brooks 
are, Alewife brook, em.ptying into Ipswich river, — 
one near the East Farms school-house, which carries 
a saw-mill a part of the year, — and those running 
under Hart's and Thissel's bridges, each of which 
formerly supported a grist mill. Near Frost Fish 
brook, and adjacent to the bridge in Conant street, 
the late William Burley, during the last war, erect- 
ed a brick factory for manufacturing cotton cloth ; 
but a deficiency of water, combined with other cir- 
cumstances, induced an abandonment of the project. 

The most considerable pond within the limits of 
Beverly, is Beaver pond, situated about two hundred 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. O 

rods south of Wenham line, and about half a mile 
east of Brimble Hill. It is a beautiful sheet of water, 
covering about 20 acres, and affords Perch, Yellow 
Shiners, Eels, Pickerel, and a shell-fish resembling 
the Muscle of the seashore. Another small sheet of 
water, called Round pond, is in the second parish, 
near the "Baker Tavern," and a few rods east 
of the road to Newburyport. It covers, perhaps, half 
an acre, and its circular margin is deeply fringed 
with high blueberry and other shrubs. It is said to 
be very deep, and no fish are known to exist there. 
It is probable that, at a remote period, the water cov- 
ered the entire swamp in the midst of which it lies 
concealed, and which now sustains a large growth 
of wood. 

The only mineral spring known in Beverly, is 
situated near the western foot of Snake Hill. From 
its chalybeate impregnation, it is called Iron Mine 
Spring. Iron ore is found near this spring, and for 
a time was worked, but not with sufficient profit to 
warrant a continuance of the business. The water 
has been used medicinally, but its efi'ect has not been 
sufficiently powerful to attract much the attention of 
invalids. 

Water from wells in this town, is obtained in great 
abundance, and of excellent qualit}^ Those sunk 
in the south part of the town, or between the rise of 
land near the harbor, and tAventy rods northerly of 
the first parish meeting-house, are from forty to fifty- 
three feet in depth. In other parts of the town, water is 
obtained by sinking a shaft from ten to thirty feet. A 
proprietors' well, opposite the Bank, fifty-three feet in 
depth, was built about sixty years ago, at an expense 
of more than eleven hundred dollars. Another pro- 
1# 



6 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

prietors' well at the comer of Bartlett and Cabot 
streets, was also sunk at great cost. 

The principal eminences in the town, are Browne, 
Brimble, Cue, Snake, Prospect, Christian, and Bald 
hills — on the latter of which, the town, in 1705, 
granted Samuel Corning liberty to build a wind mill. 
Browne hill received its name from the Hon. Wil- 
liam Browne, a wealthy citizen of Salem, who owned 
the estate extending to the lane near the corner of 
Liberty and Conant streets. He was the son of Hon. 
Samuel and Abigail Browne, and was born May 7th, 
1709. He was educated at Harvard University, 
where he graduated in 1727. In 1737, he married 
Mary, daughter of Governor Burnet, who died July 
31, 1745. His second wife was Mary, daughter of 
Philip French, Esq., of Brunswick, N. J. He had 
eight children, and during his life-time filled the offi- 
ces of Justice of the Sessions Court, Representative in 
the General Court, and member of the Executive 
Council. 

About 1750, Mr. Browne erected a splendid man- 
sion on the summit of this hill, to which he gave the 
name of " Browne Hall, " after a place in Lanca- 
shire, England, that belonged to his ancestors. This 
building consisted of two wings, two stories high, con- 
nected by a spacious hall, the whole presenting a front 
of seventy feet. The floor of the hall was painted in 
imitation of mosaick, and springing from the wall 
was a commodious circular gallery. Adjacent to the 
house, was a building occupied solely by the domes- 
tics, all of whom were blacks. The dwelling was 
finished in the most thorough and costly manner, and 
was furnished in a style corresponding with the 
wealth of its owner. This hall was the scene of 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 



many magnificent entertainments — and on one occa- 
sion an ox was roasted whole and served up to a 
numerous dinner party. The farmhouse stood at 
the foot of the hill. About 1761, Mr. Browne re- 
moved this delightful residence from the hill to a 
site near Liberty corner. He lived but about two 
years after, and expired suddenly in his field, of 
apoplexy, April 27th, 1763, aged 54. A manuscript 
note in the Archives of the Worcester Antiquarian 
Society, says : " He was a most polite gentleman, 
well read in history and geography." He bequeath- 
ed a gilt cup to his son William, which once belonged 
to the lady of Bishop Burnet, and £1000 old tenor 
to a society in England for propagating the gospel 
among the American Indians. After Mr. Browne's 
decease, the estate became the property of Richard 
Derby, Esq., of Salem. During his occupancy of it, 
February 22d, 1790, the barn was burned, and thirty- 
six head of cattle with it. The estate was subse- 
quently purchased by the late William Burley, who 
disposed of the mansion, which was removed in parts 
by several purchasers. 




liiS©^J31 H^LL, 



From this hill, opens to the beholder a prospect of 
surpassing beauty and grandeur. His eye scans an 



H HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

immense panorama of hiil and dale, of forest and 
lawn, teeming with animation, and sending up to his 
ear the hum of busy life — the lowing of herds and 
the cheerful notes of the feathered tribes, blending 
rural sounds with the bustle of town and city. Be- 
fore him, Beverly spreads out as a map, dotted with 
churches and school-houses — those objects here in 
New England, so happily and gloriously united, and 
that bring to his mind's vision the spirit of puritan 
forecast, which provided simultaneously for the cul- 
ture of the intellect and the improvement of the heart. 
A little to the north lies Wenham, with its charming 
lake ; and still further on, the solitary spire of Ham- 
ilton church is seen, pointing heavenward, and reliev- 
ed by the rich back-ground of Ipswich hills. Turning 
himself slowly round, his eyes rest successively on 
the valley of Topsfield, remarkable for the superior 
intensity of its atmospheric light, while the far-away 
mountains veil their heads in clouds — on Danvers 
Plains, the Salem Village of " the olden time," whose 
proverbial enterprize has obliterated almost every 
memorial of the painful and fatal scenes of witch- 
craft-folly — on Salem, the city of peace, where the 
godly Higginson planted and nurtured the vine 
whose prolific energy fruited the New England 
churches — on Marblehead, with its iron-bound 
shore, emblematical of the hardy spirit of its enter- 
prizing and patriotic inhabitants, and to promote the 
moral good of whom, the pious Avery encountered a 
watery grave ; and, finally, to perfect the view, on 
Massachusetts Bay, which, flashing with silvery 
light, tossing in giant sportiveness her glittering 
foam-cap aloft, mingling her charms with indented 
shores, rugged promontories, and countless patches of 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. \f 

russet and green, and bearing on her proudly heaving 
bosom, the sails of many and distant climes, stretches 
out and out, as if to mock the feebleness of sight, 
until she receives and reciprocates the embrace of 
the mighty Atlantic. 

A prospect, of nearly equal beauty, is afforded 
from Cherry Hill, formerly the estate of the late Jo- 
seph White, of Salem, but now the property of Capt. 
John Hammond. Its proximity to Wenham Pond,=^ 
one hundred and seven acres of which lie within 
the limits of Beverly, the distant view of the ocean, 
the various scenery of the surrounding country, com- 
bine, with the salubrity of its situation, to render it 
one of the most desirable residences in this vicinity. 
The mansion, as seen through a long avenue of fruit 
trees, shaded at its upper termination by two finely 
branching elms, presents a handsome appearance; 
and from its top Capt. White, with the aid of a glass, 
frequently descried his vessels making the port of 
Salem before their approach was known in the city. 
A delightful and extensive view of the harbor and 
adjacent region is had from the summer-house in the 

* The surface of this beautiful sheet of water measures 320 
acres, and is 34 feet higher than the flow of the tide at the head 
of Bass river. It is well stored with fish, and is much resorted to 
by the lovers of piscatory amusements. Alewives formerly came up 
to this pond to spawn, but the dam on Ipswich river, and other ob- 
structions, have nearly stopped their access to it. The water is very 
pure, and the proximity of the rail-road aflbrds facilities for profita- 
ble engagement in the ice business during the winter months. On 
the northern side of this pond is a conical hill, called Peters' Pulpit. 
It is said Hugh Peters, one of the early ministers of the First Church 
in Salem, once addressed a large audience from its top. His text 
was, John iii. 23, " At Enon, near Salem, because there was much 
water there." Enon w^as the original name of Wenham, and the 
territory of Salem, at that time, joined it. 



10 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

garden of Mr. George Brown, from the cupola of 
Bell's building, and from various other points. The 
picturesque view afforded from EUingwood's Point, 
is unsurpassed by any water prospect in this vicin- 
ity ; and the admirer of nature, who stands on Paul's 
Head, at the opening and close of day, will see the 
sun rise from his watery bed with a glory, and de- 
scend behind the western hills with a gorgeousness, 
of which Italy itself might be proud. 

Nature has beautifully delineated Beverly, and 
marked it for a town. The southern quarter, oppo- 
site Salem, combines, for commercial purposes, the 
advantages of a commodious and safe harbor, salu- 
brious air, and dry, elevated land, well suited for 
building. From Essex Bridge, the elevation along 
the rail-road track, towards Newburyport, gradually 
increases till it reaches more than fifty feet, the summit 
level at the corner near Col. Jesse Shelden's, when it as 
gradually slopes toward Wenham. The streets are of 
commodious width, and generally ornamented with 
shade trees; and several, running easterly from the 
main street to the marginal one threading the harbor, 
present a very handsome appearance. The principal 
highways, all of which are bordered with many ex- 
cellent farms, are, the road leading from Salem to 
Newburyport, which makes the main street of the 
town, — the road to Cape Ann, which, as it winds its 
way along the seashore the whole distance, affords 
an exceedingly pleasant and romantic drive, — the 
road through Rial Side to Dan vers Neck, — Conant 
street, which intersects Liberty street (running from 
the Neck to the Topsfield road), and leads to Dan- 
vers Plains, — and the road from the second parish 
meeting-house to Topsfield. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 11 

The road from Essex bridge to Wenham is ex- 
ceedingly crooked, having many acute angles and 
large curvatures, besides innumerable smaller sinuos- 
ities. In this respect, however, it is not singular. 
Before a way had been discovered of passing from 
Woodberry's Point, to a settlement made very early 
at the head of Bass river, except by following the 
seashore and the margin of the river, it is said a 
heifer was driven from the Point to the latter place 
around the shore, and left to remain there. The an- 
imal, not liking her new abode, set out to return 
home through the woods, which she reached before 
her driver. Instead of pronouncing her bewitched, 
as probably would have been done some fifty or sixty 
years later, her tracks were traced, and a path there- 
by discovered, which subsequently became a road of 
communication between the two places. The road 
thus laid out by this four-footed commissioner of 
highways, has not, since that time, been improved 
much in its direction. Two hundred years still 
leave us in possession of many highways, whose 
numerous windings bear ample testimony to the same 
scientific origin, and it is quite possible that the road 
first mentioned was surveyed and laid out by an en- 
gineer of a kindred corps. 

The natural advantages of Beverly, to which refer- 
ence has been made, have not been neglected. From 
the Salem side, the town, with its wharves, store- 
houses and shipping, presents the compact aspect of 
a commercial place. As the stranger crosses the 
bridge, and enters the heart of the main village, he 
is favorably impressed with the air of comfort and 
business which the numerous handsomely finished 
dwellings and shops exhibit ; nor is he less gratified 



12 ^ HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

as he proceeds, when the well-tilled fields, substan- 
tial farm-houses, and picturesque scenery of the sec- 
ond parish open to his view. It is no vain boasting 
to say, that this town combines as many natural and 
acquired advantages as any other, of similar terri- 
tory and population, in Essex county. Nor, it is be- 
lieved, will the lover of nature elsewhere find more 
ample means for indulging the senses, or wider scope 
for the exercise of imagination. 



SETTLEMENT. 



Beverly originally formed a part of the Naumkeag 
territory, belonging to John, Sagamore of Agawam, 
which also inclnded Salem, Marblehead, Manchester, 
Wenham, Danvers, part of Topsfield and of Middle- 
ton.^ This chief gladly welcomed the colonists, to 
whom he looked for protection against his powerful 
enemies, the Tarrantines, and made them a free grant 
of this entire territory. In 1700, the grandchildren 
of the Sagamore set up a claim to Beverly, which 
was cancelled by the payment of £6 6s. 8d., and a 
formal deed taken. 

It was supposed by the late Rev. Dr. Bentley, 
whose familiarity with the early history of this coun- 
try entitles his opinions to great weight, that the first 
settlement within the original limits of Salem was 
made on Bass river or " Cape Ann Side," as it is 
styled in the ancient records. He pointed out a spot 
near Tuck's Point, as the locality of the first fort 

* Naamkeag, it is well known, was the name of Salein. Mather 
writes it NahumkeicJc, on which he has the following comment : " I 
have somewhere met with an odd observation that the name of it 
was rather Hebrew than Indian : for Nahum signifies comfort, and 
Keick signifies an haven j and our English not only found it an 
haven of comfort, but happened also to put an Hebrew name upon it ; 
for they called it Salem, for the peace which they had and hoped in 
it : and so it is called unto this d.dJvy—Magnalia, vol. 1, p. 63. 

2 



14 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

erected for the protection of settlers. But since his 
decease, the error of this opinion has been satisfacto- 
rily ascertained. The fort referred to was establish- 
ed on Naugus' Head, nearly opposite fort Pickering, 
at the entrance of Salem harbor. 

The first permanent settlement in this town was 
efiected by Roger Conant, John and William Wood- 
berry, and John Batch, about 1630. It commenced 
at Curtis Woodberry's Point, whence it extended to 
Mackerel Cove and other parts. There are reasons 
for the belief, that at an early period, perhaps not 
long before the settlement of Salem in 1626, Beverly 
was an Indian residence. In removing the earth on 
the westerly margin of Bartlett swamp in 1834, flat 
stones placed in a circular form, on which fire had 
been made, and also charcoal and clam-shells, were 
found near a spring of fresh water. Similar remains 
have been discovered on the shore west of the mouth 
of Bass river. 

According to a current tradition, one of the first 
houses erected in this town, was on Woodberry's 
Point, near the residence of John Prince, It was a 
large double house, constructed for defence against 
an enemy, and called the garrison house. It was 
framed of oak after the fashion of the times, and was 
taken down about forty years ago. A settlement by 
an EUingwood (probably Ralph) was early made on 
Fox's or Ellingwood's Point. The flats from the 
old ferry- way to this Point, were granted by Salem 
to one of the Ellingwood's, in compensation for sup- 
porting a pauper by the name of Lambert. The deed 
of this grant is extant. 

There is a tradition, that the first child born in this 
town, was of the name of Dixey. William Dixey 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 15 

settled oil Bass-river-side soon after Conaiit ; and if 
the tradition is founded in fact, it is probable this 
child was his. Dixey was admitted freeman 1634, 
and died in 1690, aged 82. 

On 27th October, 1647, the inhabitants of Mackerel 
Cove were, on petition, released from being called to 
watch in Salem, except in seasons of danger ; and in 
1665, the Bass river settlement was permitted by the 
General Court, to exercise some of the powers of a 
town, though still subordinate to Salem. These were, 
to choose selectmen, and raise the charges to be de- 
frayed by and within themselves — to provide for the 
poor that desired to inhabit with them — to choose 
their constables and surveyors of highways, and 
whatever other officers it might be necessary to em- 
ploy. — with a distinct understanding, however, that 
in town and country charges, in common interest and 
concern, and in the choice of Deputies to the General 
Court, they were to act in concert with Salem. 

Three years subsequent to this arrangement, Oct. 
14, 1668, Bass-river-side was incorporated as a dis- 
tinct township by the name of Beverly, and Salem 
was required to furnish suitable lands and bounds. 
These bounds excluded Rial-side, and all the terri- 
tory within the present limits of the town, west of 
Bass river and Horse brook, which were not set off 
from Salem until 1753. 

The first town meeting subsequent to incorpora- 
tion, was held Nov. 23, 1668, at which Capt. Thomas 
Lothrop, Wm. Dixey, Wm. Dodge, sen., John West 
and Paul Thorndike, were chosen selectmen. These 
officers were sometimes called toivnsinen^ a name 
significant of their public character, and were select- 
ed from among the most worthy of the citizens. For 



16 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

a long time "they united in their office the powers 
and duties of Overseers of the poor. Assessors of 
taxes, Surveyors of highways, and at one time, 
judicial powers to try civil causes of small amount. 
And although their powers are now more restricted, 
they are still looked up to as the fathers of the town, 
whose prudential affairs they are to order and man- 
age according to a sound discretion." 

Great dissatisfaction appears early to have existed 
with the name of the town ; so much so, that in 1671, 
Roger Conant, with thirty-four others, petitioned the 
General Court for its alteration. As the petition 
assigns all the known reasons for a change, it is 
given entire, Avith the orthography unaltered. 

Petitio7i of Roger Conant^ May 28, 1671. 
To the honored General Court, consisting of Mag- 
istrates and Deputees, (the 28th of the 3d month, 
1671.) 

The humble petition of Roger Conant, of Bass 
river ah as Beverly, who hath bin a planter in New 
England fortie yeers and upwards, being one of the 
first, if not the very first, that resolved and made 
good my settlement under in matter of plantation 
with my family in this collony of the Massachusets 
Bay, and have bin instrumental, both for the found- 
ing and carriing on of the same ; and when in the 
infancy thereof it was in great hazard of being de- 
serted, I was a means, through grace assisting me, 
to stop the flight of those few that then were heere 
with me, and that by my utter deniall to goe away 
with them, who would have gon either for England, 
or mostly for Yirginia, but thereupon stayed to the 
hassard of our lives 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 17 

Now my umble suite and request is unto this hon- 
orable Court, onlie that the name of our towne or 
plantation may be altered or changed from Beverly 
and be called Budleigh. I have two reasons that 
have moved me unto this request. The first is the 
great dislike and discontent of many of our people 
for; this name of Beverly, because (we being but a 
small place) it hath caused on us a constant nick- 
name of Beggarly, being in the mouths of many, 
and no order was given, or consent by the people to 
their agent for any name, until we were shure of 
being a town granted in the first place. 

Secondly. I being the first that had house in Sa- 
lem, (and neither had any hand in naming either 
that or any other town,) and myself with those that 
were then with me, being all from the western part 
of England, desire this western name of Budleigh, a 
market towne in Devonshire, and neere unto the sea 
as wee are heere in this place, and where myself was 
borne. Now in regard of our firstnesse and antiquity 
in this soe famous a coUony, we should umblie request 
this small preveledg with your favors and consent, 
to give this name above said, unto our town. I never 
yet made sute or request unto the Generall Court for 
the least matter, tho' 1 thinke I might as well have 
done, as many others have, who have obtained much 
without hazard of life, or preferring the public good 
before their own interest, which, I praise God, I have 
done. 

If this my sute, may find acceptation with your 
worships, 1 shall rest umbly thankfull, and my praises 
shall not cease unto the throne of grace, for God^s 
guidance and his blessing to be on all your waightie 
proceedings, and that iustice and righteousness may 



18 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

be everie where taught and practised throughout this 
wilderness, to all posterity, which God grant. Amen. 
Your worships' umble petitioner and servant, 

Roger Conant. 

At this time Conant was upwards of eighty years 
old, and it may be presumed the name of his native 
Budleigh possessed for him the charm of early asso- 
ciation. But neither his venerable age, the services 
he had performed, nor yet " the umble desire and 
request" of a very considerable part of the male 
inhabitants of the place, availed to obtain the object 
of his petition. And June 1, 1671, the Court gave 
for reply, that " the magistrates having perused and 
considered this request, see no cause to alter the 
name of the place as desired, their brethren the dep- 
uties hereto consenting." Beverly in England, is a 
town of considerable note in the East-riding of York- 
shire, and was once the residence of John de Beverly, 
Archbishop of York, who died May 7th, 721. It is 
probable that from this town Beverly in Massachu- 
setts derived its name, and though the present gener- 
ation may sympathise with the aged Conant and his 
associates in the disappointment of their request, 
they will not regret that the original corporate name 
was retained in preference to the less euphonious one 
of Budleigh. 

Roger Conant, as stated in his petition, was born 
in Budleigh, England, in April, 1591. He was the 
son of Richard and Agnes Conant, and grandson 
of John Conant, who descended from worthy parents 
of Gettisham, near Honiton, and whose ancestors 
were of French extraction. He was brother to Dr. 
John Conant, of Exeter . College, one of the As- 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 19 

sembly Divines. In 1623, he emigrated to Plymouth, 
where he remained until 1625, when, in company 
with Rev. Mr. Lyford, he removed to Nantasket. 
He remained there but a short time, and proceeded 
to Cape Ann, Avhere he was invested with the super- 
intendence of the Dorchester company engaged in 
the fishery and agricultural pursuits, being in fact 
the first Governor in the Colony of Massachusetts 
Bay, though not the Chief Magistrate of a Province. 
The trial of a year at Cape Ann, was sufficient to 
satisfy Conant and his company, that the prospect of 
gain was hopeless, and in 1626 he removed to Salem 
as a more favorable locality, and settled on the neck 
of land between Collins' Cove and the North River. 
His principal companions were John Woodberry, 
John Balch and Peter Palfrey. Here he was severe- 
ly tried by the disaffection of most of his company, 
who, through privation, the fear of Indian hostilities, 
and an invitation to accompany their late pastor, Mr. 
Lyford, to Virginia, were strongly inclined to aban- 
don the settlement. In this critical juncture, he re- 
mained firm and true to the interests of the company. 
He declared his intention to continue though all 
should depart ; and by his decided and hopeful tone, 
revived the drooping courage of his associates, and 
induced them to relinquish their design.^ He dis- 
charged the principal offices in Salem for several 
years, and represented that place in the General 
Court. He was an original member of the first church 
in Salem, and was made freeman in 1630. In 1635, 
he received, in connexion with several others, a grant 
of land at the head of Bass river; and on his petition 

* Mather's Magnalia, i. p. 62. 



20 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

as "an ancient planter" in 1671, the General Court 
granted him 200 acres more.^ He took a patriarchal 
interest in the affairs of this town until his decease, 
Nov. 19th, 1679, in the 89th year of his age. Mather 
styles him "a most rehgious, prudent and worthy 
gentleman;" graces that eminently qualified him for 
the duties he was called to discharge, and which, in 
one instance at least, enabled him to adjust a diffi- 
culty between contending parties at Cape Ann that 
threatened bloodshed. f 

Roger Conant had four sons, Lot, Roger, Exercise 
and Joshua. The latter died in 1659. 

Lot, probably the oldest son, was born in 1624, 
and was among the original members of the first 
church in this town in 1667. He had ten children, 
viz : Samuel, John, Lot, Elizabeth, Mary, Martha, 
William and Sarah, (twins,) Roger and Rebecca. 
In 1662, he lived in Marblehead. 

Roger, his second son, was the first male born in 
Salem — on account of which, in 1640, he received a 
grant of twenty acres of land. He came to Beverly 
with his father, and previously to 1674, resided in 

* The grant from Salem runs as follows: "4th of the 11th 
month, (Jan.) 1635. That Capt. (William) Traske, Jno. Woodberry, 
Mr Conant, Peter Palfrey and John Balch, are to haveSfarmes, viz : 
each 200 acres a peise, to forme in all a thousand acres of land 
together, lying and being at the head of Bass river, 124 poles 
in breadth, and soe runin northerly to the river by the great pond 
side, and soe in breadth, making up the full quantity of a thou- 
sand acres, these being laid out and surveyed by vs. 

John Woodberry, 
John Balch." 
Palfrey never settled on his grant. He removed to Reading, 
where he died July 15th, 1663. 

t Hubbard's Hist. N. E. pp. 106—111. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 21 

Marbleheacl. He had a son Roger, who had a son 
Ebenezer, bom Dec. 30th, 169S. 

Exercise was, probably, born in Beverly. He was 
baptized at Salem, Dec. 24, 1637; was made free- 
man 1663, and was set off with other petitioners 
for a church in this town hi 1667. He appears to 
have been an active and useful citizen, and repre- 
sen ted the town in General Court, in 1682, 1684. 
The births of three of his children are recorded, viz : 
Elizabeth, Josiah and Caleb. 

John Woodbel-ry, another of the original settlers 
of this town, came from Somersetshire, England, 
under the direction of the Dorchester company, which 
established itself at Cape Ann about 1624. He came 
to Salem with Conant, Balch and others, in 1626, 
and the next year went to England as an agent for 
procuring supplies. He returned in 1628, and was 
made a freeman in 1630. In 1635, he was chosen 
deputy to the General Court — and again in 1638, 
besides which, he was appointed to several offices of 
trust in town. He was an original member of the 
first church in Salem. In 1636, he received a grant 
of two hundred acres of land on Bass river. He was 
an energetic, faithful and worthy man, and took an 
active part in the settlement and transactions of the 
colony. He died in 1641, having lived to see his 
perils, sufferings and toils contribute to prepare a 
refuge for his countrymen. 

Humphrey, son of John Woodberry, was born in 
1609, came to N. England with his father in 1628, 
was admitted to the church in Salem 1648, was 
member of the first church in Beverly at its for- 
mation, was chosen deacon in 1668, and was liv- 
ing in 1681. Peter, son of Humphrey, was born 



22 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

in 1640. He was made a freeman in 1668, and elect- 
ed representative in 1689. He also filled the office of 
deacon, and died July 5th, 1704, aged 64. Peter, jr. 
his son, was born in 1664, and died Jan. 8th, 1706, 
aged 42 years. He also filled the office of deacon. 
He owned the estate, now the property of Mr. Ben- 
jamin Woodberry, in the second parish, and resided 
in the same house. His widow, Mary, survived him 
fifty-seven years, and died Nov. 20th, 1763, in the 
90th year of her age. Peter, jr., had also a son Peter, 
Avho was born June 20th, 1705, and died May 14th, 
1775. John, a son of the last named Peter, was born 
Nov. 8th, 1743, and died Sept. 3d, 1813, in the 70th 
year of his age. He had six children, viz : John, 
Peter, Hannah, Mary, James and Benjamin. The 
homestead has remained in the family since the first 
settlement. 

Josiah Woodberry, son of the first named Peter, 
was born June 15th. 1682, and lived in the second 
parish. He had a son Peter, who removed to Mt. 
Vernon, N. H. (then Amherst,) in 1773, and died at 
Antrim, N. H., aged 85. His son, Hon. Peter Wood- 
berry, was born in Beverly in 1767, and removed to 
New Hampshire, with his father. He engaged in 
mercantile and agricultural pursuits. He was about 
fifteen years member of the House of Representa- 
tives, two years a State Senator, and for more than 
thirty years held the commission of Justice of the 
Peace. He died at Francistown, N. H., in 1834. 
He had five sons, Hon. Levi Woodbury, late Secre- 
tary of the U. S. Treasury, P. P. Woodbury, George 
Washington, (settled in Latantia, Miss.) Jesse and 
James. His wife was the daughter of James Wood- 
bury, who was born in Beverly, removed to Mt. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 23 

Vernon, N. H., 1782, and died at Francistown, 1823, 
aged 86. James was an under officer in Col. Robert 
Rogers' regiment of Rangers, and was near Wolfe 
when he fell at the storming of Quebec. The sword 
he wore in that service is now in the possession of a 
descendant. 

William Woodberry, brother to the first named 
John, is mentioned in the Salem records in 1639, and 
his wife Elizabeth in 1640. He had a son Nich- 
olas who died May 16. 1686, aged about 69. He 
married Anna Paulsgrave, who died June 10, 1701, 
aged about 75. His daughter Abigail married an 
Ober, and died Jan. 28, 1727, aged 86. Nicholas had 
a son Nicholas, born in 16.57, died Oct. 13, 1691, aged 
34. From John and AYilliam Woodberry, all bearing 
that name in New England probably descended. 

John Balch came from Bridge water, Somersetshire, 
England. He was an original member of the first 
church in Salem ; was made freeman in 1630, and 
held various offices of trust. He settled on his grant 
of land at the head of Bass river, near the present 
residence of Mr. John Bell, Avhere he died in 1648. 
He was an intelligent, exemplary and useful citizen. 
He was twice married, and had three sons, viz : 
Benjamin, born 1629 : John, married to Mary, daugh- 
ter of Roger Conant, and drowned in crossing the 
ferry to Beverly, Jan. 16, 1662 ; Freeborn, who went 
to England and never returned. 

Benjamin had Samuel, b. 1651, d. 1723; John, b. 
1654, d. 1738 ; Joseph, killed at Bloody Brook ; and 
Freeborn, b. 1660, d. 1729. Freeborn lived near 
Wenham pond. His first wife was a Knowlton, by 
whom he had Freeborn, (v/ho removed to Bradford,) 
Benjamin and Mirriam. His second wife was Eliza- 



24 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

beth Fairfield, by whom he had Elizabeth, Abigail, 
Tabatha, William and Mary. William, son of Free- 
born and grandson of Benjamin, was minister of 
Bradford— b. 1704, graduated 1724— d. 1792. He 
had seven children, one of whom, William, was 
father of Benjamin Balch, of Salem. 

Samuel Balch, son of Benjamin, sen., married 
Sarah Newmarch 1675 — was chosen deacon of the 
first church, Oct. 26, 1 704 ; married for second wife, 
Martha Butman, 1721; d. Oct. 14, 1723, aged 72. 
He had eleven children, viz : Joseph, John, Peter, 
Martha, Samuel, Benjamin and John, (twins,) Phebe, 
Cornelius, Abigail and Thomas. 

John Balch, son of deacon Samuel Balch, b. 
1654 ; married Hannah Denning, Dec. 23, 1674 ; d. 
1738. He had Israel, Sarah, Caleb, Joshua, David 
and Roger. He owned a large real estate in the 
second parish. 

To the names of Conant, Woodberry and Balch. 
it will be proper to add those of Brackenbury and 
Lothrop, as among the most valuable of the early 
settlers of Beverly. 

Richard Brackenbury came over in Governor En- 
dicott's company in 1628. The first public business 
with which his name is coupled, is in a joint commis- 
sion from Salem with William Woodberry, Ensign 
Dixey, Mr. Conant and Lieut. Lothrop, to '"lay out 
a way between the ferry at Salem and the head of 
Jefi'rie's Creek," to " be such a way as a man may 
travel on horseback or drive cattle," with the alter- 
native, that "if such a way may not be formed, 
then to take speedy course to set up a bridge at 
Mackerel Cove." Pie was a member of the first 
church in Salem in 1628, and was made a freeman 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 25 

in 1630. In 1636, he received a grant of 7o acres of 
land. He was a member of the first church in Bev- 
erly, and took a lively interest in its affairs. His 
death occurred in 1685, at the age of 85. He left 
descendants, hut the name has become extinct in this 
town. 

Capt. Thomas Lothrop emigrated from England, 
and during his whole life was distinguished for in- 
telligence, activity and efficiency in public affairs. 
He settled on '' Bass-river-side," where he received a 
grant of land in 1636. He became *a freeman in 
1634, and a member of the Salem church in 1636. 
He represented Salem in General Court for the years 
1647, 1653 and 1664, besides holding other important 
offices. He assisted in founding the first church in 
1667, and after the incorporation of this town, he 
was chosen a selectman, and re-elected to that office 
from year to year, until his death. He was also 
chosen representative for several years, and was ex- 
tensively employed in almost all the pubhc affairs of 
the town, both civil and ecclesiastical. 

In 1644, Lothrop was a lieutenant under Captain 
Hawthorn, and in 1654, had a captain's command 
under Major Sedgwick at the capture of St. Johns 
and Port Royal. He was very desirous of obtaining 
a bell for the meeting-house in Beverly, and applied 
to Major Sedgwick for one at St. Johns, but that 
being ah'eady promised, his wish was gratified at 
Port Royal, by being put in possession of the bell 
belonging to the '' new Friary " of that place, which 
he transferred to this town. In this expedition Thom- 
as Whittredge and Edward Rayment, of Beverly, 
held lieutenants' commissions, and William Wood- 
berry, Humphrey Woodberry and Peter Wooden, 
3 



26 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

were pilots. The "plunder" amounted to £740.^ 
In the early part of King Philip's war, Captain 
Lothrop was selected to command a company of 
infantry in the Massachusetts forces, and ordered to 
the western frontier of the province. This company, 
styled " the flower of Essex, " consisted of young 
men selected from the best families of the several 
towns in the county. At this time, the country now 
embraced in the county of Worcester and the Con- 
necticut river counties, was infested by hostile Indi- 
ans, and this company performed much hard service 
at and in the vicinity of Brookfield, making extensive 
marches through the northern woods in search of the 
enemy. Hadley being made the head-quarters of the 
troops stationed in that quarter to protect the settlers, 
it became necessary to increase the supply of provis- 
ions. A considerable quantity of wheat having been 
preserved in stacks at Deerfield, it was deemed expe- 
dient to have it threshed and brought down to Hadley. 
Capt. Lothrop and his company volunteered as con- 
voy. They passed with safety through the level and 
closely wooded country, well calculated for a surprize, 
and at Muddy Brook in South Deerfield, considered 
themselves, in a great measure, free from danger. 
The forest here was hung with clusters of grapes; 
and as the wagons dragged through the heavy soil, 
it is not unlikely that the teamsters, and possibly a 
part of the company, may have dispersed to gather 
them. At this moment of fatal security, seven or 
eight hundred Indians poured a deadly fire from their 
ambuscade ; and before the sanguinary conflict ceased, 
Capt. Lothrop and nearly the whole of his command 
were destroyed. The number who perished, includ- 

* Provincial Records. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 27 

iiig the teamsters, is variously estimated from sixty 
to ninety, among whom were Josiah Dodge, Peter 
Woodberry and John Balch of Beverly. Tiie post- 
script of a letter dated Sept. 22, 1675, and addressed 
by the Council to Richard Smith in the Narragansett 
country, gives the following account of this melan- 
choly affair : ''This morning we received sad intel- 
ligence from Hadley, that upon Saturday last, Capt. 
Lothrop, with about 60 men, being appointed to con- 
duct from Deerfield to Hadley with carriages and 
cattle, they were surprized by abundance of Indians 
that lay in ambushment, and received a dreadful 
blow, insomuch that about 40 of Capt. Lothrop's 
men and himself were slain. Capt. Moseley being 
not far off, engaged with the Indians and fought 
several hours, and lost 11 men; others also were 
slain that were belonging to the carriages, so that the 
next day they buried 64 men in all. The Indians 
were judged to be more than 500 men."^ 

Not long after the " black and fatal day," wherein, 
says Dr. Increase Mather, '' were eight persons made 
widows, and six and twenty children made fatherless, 
and about sixty persons buried in one fatal grave," a 
rude monument was erected near the spot to perpet- 
uate the memory of the slain ; but becoming dilapi- 
dated by time, another was erected in 1835, the corner- 
stone of Avhich was laid Sept. 30th of that year, with 
appropriate solemnities, and an address by Hon. 
Edward Everett. 

Capt. Lothrop, at the time of his death, was about 
65 years of age. He was married to Bethiah, daugh- 
ter of Joshua Rea, but had no family, and the name 
in this town is now extinct. His estate, which, as 

* Provincial Military Records. 



28 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

before stated, was received by a grant from the gov- 
ernment, was situated in Mackerel Cove, and his 
house stood near the dwelhng of Ebenezer Wood- 
berry. He gave some property to the town ; and in 
1837, one of the pubhc streets received his name. 
His widow was married to Joseph Grafton ; and his 
sister Ellen, who came over with him from England, 
and inherited his property, became the second wife 
of Ezekiel Cheever, the celebrated schoolmaster at 
Boston. 

''King Philip's war," spread consternation through- 
out the province. During that brief but sanguinary 
contest, twelve towns in Massachusetts, Plymouth 
and Rhode Island, were destroyed, six hundred build- 
ings, mostly dwelling-houses, were burned, and six 
hundred of the inhabitants fell in battle or wero 
murdered. ^^ Beverly participated in the general 
alarm ; and, as precautionary measures, forts were 
erected near the meeting-house, at Bass river, at 
Mackerel Cove, and ''near the house of John Dodge, 
sen." At an early period, and probably previous to 
this time, a party of hostile savages, it is said, sur- 
prized and carried off a family from this town by the 
name of Foster. They were taken finally to Canada, 
and seven years elapsed before they recovered their 
freedom and returned. 

In the expedition against the Indians at fort Nar- 
ragansett in 1675, the following persons from Beverly 
were engaged, commanded by Capt. Joseph Gardner, 
of Salem, whose fall, Dec. 19th, was universally 
lamented. William Balch, WiUiam Bonner, Lot 
Conant, Christopher Read, (wounded,) William Fer- 
ryman, Christopher Browne, Moses Morgan, John 

-* Everett. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 29 

Traske, William Allen, John Clark, Richard Huss- 
band, Thomas Rayment, Ralph Ellingwood, Henry 
Bayley, Thomas Blashfield, John Ellingwood, Joseph 
Morgan, William Dodge, Jonathan Biles, William 
Rayment, Elias Picket, Samuel Harris, John Dodge.* 

June 24, 1662, Lawrence Leach died, aged 82. 
He was proposed for a freeman at Salem in 1630, 
and was a member of Salem church before 1636, 
when the town granted him 100 acres of land. He 
had four sons, Clement, Richard, John and Robert. 
Clement was married and lived in England. Rich- 
ard died in 1647, and left a son John, who inherited 
the estate of his grandfather at Rial-side, known as 
the " Leach farm." Robert left a son Robert, who 
was living in 1695. Lawrence Leach held various 
offices in Salem. The usefulness of his life gained 
respect for his memory. His widow Elizabeth, died 
about 1674. 

Sept. 20, 1677, a committee of the General Court, 
consisting of Samuel Appleton, John Whipple and 
John Fuller, came to Beverly, and after examining the 
grounds of claim laid by the town, to about 500 acres 
of land, made a favorable report, which was accepted 
by the court. This was subsequently reconsidered, 
and new commissioners were appointed, Oct. 2, 1678, 
to settle the bounds between Salem Village, Beverly 
and Wenham. 

In the year 1681, great excitement was produced 
by a claim advanced by the heirs of John Mason to 
all the territory between the Merrimack and Naum- 
keag rivers. Of this excitement Beverly partook. 
The General Court was memorialized, and Rev. Mr. 
Hale, Capt. Dixy and John Dodge, sen., were chosen 

* Provincial Eecords. 

3* 



30 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

to attend a convention at Ipswich, " to present such 
pleas and evidences for the title of the town to its 
territory as had been agreed upon," and to unite with 
that body in drawing up '' something to be presented 
to his Majesty, by such messengers as the General 
Court shall send." 

Among the most material witnesses, Avere Richard 
Brackenbury, William Dixy and Humphrey Wood- 
berry. They testified that the Massachusetts com- 
pany purchased of the Dorchester company, all their 
houses, boats, servants and right at Cape Ann, before 
Gov. Endicott's arrival, who subsequently "took 
possession of Cape-Ann-side, and soon after laid out 
lots for tillage there." It was further given in evi- 
dence, that the Indians had been protected by the 
colonists who settled at Salem: that they had " free 
leave to build and plant" where they had taken up 
lands ; that the same year or next after they came 
to Salem, they cut hay for cattle, which they brought 
over on Beverly side, and that they had been in 
" possession of Beverly side ever since." ^ 

This claim was agitated until 1691, when the heirs 
of Mason, weary, probably, with hereditary litigation, 
sold their interest to Samuel Allen, a London mer- 
chant, who failing to succeed in a suit instituted 
against one of the largest landholders, petitioned the 
king to be put in possession of the waste land, which 
included all uninclosed and unoccupied lands within, 
as well as without, the bounds of settled towns. This 
petition was granted ; but being again unsuccessful 
in subsequent suits, a compromise with the Assembly 
of New Hampshire was negotiated, which was broken 
off by his sudden death in 1705. In 1706 and 1707, 

* Annals of Salem, pp. 268, 269. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 31 

his son, Thomas Allen of London, prosecuted his 
claim, but with no better success than his father. 
After his death in 1715, John Tufton Mason, a grand- 
son of John Mason, suffered a recovery of entail in 
the Courts of New Hampshire, on the ground that 
the sale to Allen in 1691, having been made in Eng- 
land, was invalid. Under this recovery, he sold all 
his interest, in 1746, to several of the principal gen- 
tlemen of the province, who, anxious to terminate 
this perplexing business, relinquished their claim to 
the towns which had been settled and granted within 
the limits of their purchase, and adopted a very 
liberal and popular policy in their grants of other 
towns. And thus, after a period of nearly one hun- 
dred years, the controversy was closed, and the 
inhabitants of Beverly, as well as all settlers between 
the Merrimack and Naumkeag rivers, were relieved 
from further apprehensions concerning the validity of 
their possessions.^ 

Nov. 8th, 1686, John Lovett deceased, aged about 
76. He was born in 1610, and was one of the eight 
admitted inhabitants of Salem, July 25th, 1639. At 
the "seven men's meeting," Nov. 3, 1665, he received 
a grant of two acres of marsh ground lying near the 
old planter's meadow in the vicinity of Wenham 
common. He came early to Beverly, and was at 
different periods surveyor of highways, constable 
and selectman. By his will, dated Nov. 8, 1686, it 
appears he held a large real estate which was devised 
principally to his children, John, Joseph, Abigail, 
Mary, Bethiah, and his grandson George Standley. 
He bequeathed a set of cooper's tools to his son John, 
and also twenty acres of land on the east side of 

* Belknap. 



32 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

" dirty hole," lying between the lands of his son 
Joseph, and his son-in-law George Standley. This 
land, now so valuable by its buildings and improve- 
ments, is on the east side of Cabot street, somewhere 
between the south meeting-house and the bank. Mr. 
Lovett's wife, Mary, for whom he suitably provided, 
and made executrix of his will, was admitted to the 
Salem church, Sept. 1, 1650, and was one of the 
petitioners for the formation of the church in Beverly. 
She died June 1695, aged about 80. 

John Lovett, jr., to whom the old burying ground 
lot belonged in 1672, died Sept. 10, 1727, aged about 
91. He bequeathed a considerable estate to his 
children, Simon, John, Samuel, Benjamin, Susanna 
and Bethiah — to his grandchildren, Peter and Bethiah 
Shaw, Susanna Sikes, and to the widow of his grand- 
son, Thomas Lovett. He was admitted to the church 
Dec. 12, 1714, when about seventy-eight years of age, 
to which he left a small legacy. From the first 
named John Lovett, all of that name in this town 
probably descended. 

In 1690, an expedition against Canada was carried 
on under the direction of Sir William Phips. For 
this enterprize, a company was raised in Beverly by 
Capt. William Rayment, who joined the land forces, 
amounting to about 2000 men. The fleet employed 
to transport the army arrived before Quebec, Oct. 
5th, and disembarked 1200 or 1300 effective men. 
All attempts to obtain possession of the city failed, 
and on the 11th, the army was compelled to return 
on board the vessels, which immediately sailed for 
New England. Great expectations had been formed 
of this expedition. The provincial government had 
warmly encouraged it, and, to render it more popular, 
held out the idea that the expenses would be entirely 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 33 

defrayed from the spoils of the enemy. So signal a 
failure not only produced universal disappointment, 
but involved the province in a severe pecuniary em- 
barrassment. According to a statement made by 
Gov. Shirley in 1746, this expedition " cost the single 
province of Massachusetts about £50,000, with the 
loss of an abundance of their young men by a malig- 
nant fever that raged in the camp, and several distem- 
pers that happened in their way home, and gave 
this province so deep a wound that it did not recover 
itself in many years after."^ 

Capt. Rayment and his company endured privation 
in common with the army, and were subsequently ^ 
rewarded by the grant of a township of land. He ""^ 
was a useful and respected citizen, represented the 
town in General Court, and held various other offices 
of trust and honor. In 1691, he was indemnified by 
the town for loss sustained as its commissioner in the 
time of Sir Edmund Andros. He owned an estate in 
the second parish, and lived near the dwelling-house 
of Mr. Isaac Babson. His children were Mary, born^^ 
April 29th, 1688— died Jan. 20th, 1689; William, T^^ 
born Feb. 11th, 1689-90: Daniel, born Nov. 25th, ^^ y 
1691 ; Paul, born Jan. 22, 1694-5. 

In one of the early French wars, a merchantman 
sailing from this port, was taken by the enemy and 
carried into one of the West India Islands. The 
captain, anxious alike for himself and the owners, 
pled earnestly for a release, and finally succeeded in 
obtaining it on condition of paying a stipulated ran- 
som. To do this, it became necessary to return to 
Beverly for the money, which his captors would not 
permit except he left a hostage. Accordingly, one of 

* Provincial Records. 



34 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

the crew, named Hill, was consigned to their custody. 
He was placed in prison, with the threat that unless 
the captain returned on a specified day, all food 
should be withheld until his arrival. With these 
terms distinctly declared, he sailed for Beverly. On 
his arrival, some little delay in procuring the neces- 
sary funds occurred, which being overcome, he once 
more spread his canvass for his port of destination. 
But this delay had nearly proved fatal to poor Hill. 
The day appointed for his captain's return closed, 
and no vessel appeared. The dreaded threat was 
immediately executed. Both food and water were 
withheld, and for eight or nine days the unfortunate 
hostage suffered all the pangs of un appeased hunger 
and the horror of apprehended starvation. Happil}^, 
however, almost at the moment when human aid 
would cease to avail, the vessel arrived, the ransom 
was paid, and Hill was set at liberty. He gradually 
recovered from the feeble state produced by privation, 
and lived several years to relate, though always Avith 
tears, the sufferings endured in a French prison. 

In 1670, notices of town meetings were first posted 
on the meeting-house, previously to which they were 
called by personal warning. In 1683, Beverly be- 
came a lawful port of entry, annexed to the port of 
Salem, and in 1684 was required to assist in building 
a house of correction in that town. In 1687, the 
inhabitants becoming neglectful of town meetings, a 
vote was passed imposing a fine of ten shillings on 
all future absentees. 

Although the town records begin in 1665, no town 
clerk was chosen until April 11, 1690, when Andrew 
Elliot was elected, and his compensation fixed at 30s. 
in money or 40s. in /»ay, i. e. produce. Up to this 
period, the records had been kept by the selectmen. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 35 

whose doings are blended with those of the town. 
EUiot was a native of Somerset county, in the west 
of England. He came early to Beverly, and became 
a member of the church in 1687. He appears to 
have enjoyed the entire confidence of his townsmen, 
and was frequently chosen selectman, representative, 
&c., and was sixty- three years old when he entered 
upon the duties of town clerk. He suffered under 
the arbitrary administration of Sir Edmund Andros, 
on account of which, the town made him a grant. 
In 1686, he was one of the five witnesses taken from 
Beverly, to attend at the execution of the Indian 
deed of the town of Salem. He wrote a fair hand, 
and was very circumstantial in his record of events. 
The following entry of the decease of his son, is a 
specimen of his method : '' Andrew Elliot, the dear 
and only son of Andrew Elliot, whose mother's name 
was Grace, and was born in East Coker, in the county 
of Somerset, in old England, being on board a vessel 
appertaining unto Phillip English, of Salem, one 
Bavidge being master, said vessel being then at Cape 
Sables, by an awful stroke was violently thrown 
into the sea and there perished in the water, to the 
great grief of his said father, the penman hereof, 
being aged about 37 years ; on the 12th day of Septem- 
ber, about 10 o'clock in the morning, according to 
the best information, in the year of our Lord, 1688." 
The second volume of town records he commences 
as follows: '• 3d of Nov. 1685, then this book was 
improved for the town of Beverly, as a town book 
to record the town concerns by the selectmen of said 
town successively. For former concerns in this mat- 
ter, any concerned may have recourse unto a former 
parchment-covered old book extant, and likewise for 
some antient records of marriages, births, and buri- 



36 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

als, which said year was the first year of the reigii 
of our sovereign lord, King James secundus. 

"Truth justifies herself when falsehood comes to naught. 
How few improve the first, but with the last full fraught ; 
Oh thou tyrant custom, what havoc dost thou make, 
Thy cruel bonds, fetters and clogs, most men do captivate." 

He died March 1, 1703-4, aged 76 years. 

Andrevv^ ElUot, a merchant in Boston, who suffered 
by the great fire in 1711, was his great grandson, and 
Rev. Andrew ElUot, a distinguished clergyman of the 
same city, was his great, great grandson. The 
daughter of Andrew Elliot, the merchant, was 
married to Nathaniel Thayer, and was grandmother 
to the late Rev. Dr. Thayer, of Lancaster. 

Mr. Elliot was succeeded in office by Robert 
Woodberry, who discharged its duties with great 
fidelity. He married a daughter of ''farmer West," 
was the grandfather of the late James Woodberry at 
the farms, and lived in the same house. During his 
life-time, he held most of the important offices in the 
gift of the town. He was a good penman, and was 
almost universally employed in drafting deeds and 
other instruments in writing required by the inhabit- 
ants of the town. 
\j Another town officer worthy of notice in this con- 
nexion, is Robert Briscoe, who, from 1690 until he 
removed from the place in 1726, held the various 
offices of selectman, assessor, treasurer and- repre- 
sentative, besides other important trusts in tOAvn 
and parish. He was a native of the west of Eng- 
land, but at what time he emigrated to this coun- 
try is not known. His name is first mentioned in 
the town records in 1686, and in 1708, he became 
a member of the church. His wife was of a noble 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 37 

family ; but marrying contrary to the views of her 
friends, tiiey were induced to come to America. He 
possessed considerable property, and traditions are fresh 
of the superior style in which his dwelling was furnish- 
ed. His house stood nearly opposite the first parish 
meeting-house, and was taken down about forty-four 
years ago. It was elegant in its day, and is now well 
remembered for its peculiar form, and its appendages 
and decorations. In 1712, he presented the town 
with a bell for the use of the meeting-house, and in 
1718, he gave a silver cup to the church. He appears 
to have been a generous and public-spirited man, and 
his purse was always at the command of the town 
in anticipation of any want. His first wife, Abigail, 
who was a member of the church, died June 1st, 
1724, aged 52. His second wife was Mrs. Elizabeth 
Dudley, of Exeter, N. H., in which town he resided at 
the time of his decease. Among the legacies he left, 
was £10 to Rev. Thomas Blowers, £20 to the poor 
of Beverly, £10 to the poor of Exeter, £10 to the 
Rev. John Odlin, of Exeter, a silver tankard to the 
church in the same town, and to his negro boy Cato, 
£20, a cow, and at 24 years of age, his freedom. In 
1832, one of the public streets was named in honor 
of him, and likewise in 1842, the grammar district 
school-house received the name of '• Briscoe Hall. " 

In 1694-5, one half of the town tax was paid in 
grain, at the following prices : Indian corn, 3s; rye. 
4s ; barley and barley malt, 4s ; and oats, 2s. per 
bushel. About this period, the difference in the par 
value of silver and p«?/, or produce, was 33^ per 
cent. 

In 1707, Robin Mingo, a negro slave, the property 
of Thomas Woodberry, was married to Deborah 
Tailor, an Indian woman. Before the ceremony was 
4 



38 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

performed, she agreed to Jive with her husband's 
master and mistress during liis hfe, to be then •• dis- 
missed with only two suits of clothes suitable for 
such a person." July 15, 1722, Mingo received the 
rite of baptism, and was admitted a member of the 
church. He was, at the time of his death in 1773, 
the property of Nicholas Thorndike. From him, 
^^ Mingo'' s Beach ^^ is supposed to have derived its 
name. The number of slaves in this town in 1754, 
was twenty-eight. 

The year 1727, was memorable for an earthquake, 
which occurred about 20 minutes before 11 o'clock, 
P. M., Oct. 29th. It was felt through the colonies, 
and made strong religious impressions on the minds 
of many in this to^vn and other places. Nov. IS, 
1755, a few minutes past 4 o'clock, A. M., another 
earthquake was experienced, more violent in its m.o- 
tions, and of longer duration than any previously 
felt in this quarter of the globe. Its greatest violence 
in this town, was felt in the neighborhood of Colon 
street, where several chimnies were thrown dov^^n. 
Stone walls were also prostrated, and "the pewter 
shaken from the shelves " in other parts of the town. 
Both in Beverly and Salem a change in the quality 
of the water in the wells was noticed. Water which 
had previously been soft and suitable for washing, 
became hard and unfit for that purpose. 

Of the citizens of this town who occupied a con- 
spicuous position, and took a leading part in public 
affairs, between 1730 and 1767, Robert Hale, Jr. was 
distinguished for activity and influence. He was 
born February 12th, 1702-3, and baptized on the 21st 
of the same month. When between 15 and 16 years 
of age, he was employed to keep the grammar school, 
and again, at a more mature age, in 1730. In 1721 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 39 

he was graduated at Harvard College, to the philo- 
sophical department of which he presented a solar 
microscope and magic lantern, in 1764. Immedi- 
ately upon leaving college, he commenced the study 
of medicine, under the direction of Dr. Manning, of 
Ipswich, and about 1723 engaged in a practice that 
soon extended to all the neighboring towns."^" In 
1723 he was married to Ehzabeth Gilman, daughter 
of Col. John Gilman, of Exeter, N. H., who became 
the mother of three daughters; Elizabeth, Rebeccah, 
born May 27, 1730, died April 27, 1732 ; and Rebec- 
kah, born Feb. 5, 1732-3, died Aug. 23, 1736. Mrs. 
Hale died Aug. 19th, 1736, in the 35th year of her 
age. His second marriage was with Elizabeth, 
youngest daughter of Hon. John Clarke, of Boston, 
Dec. 21, 1737. 

The energy of character, sound judgment and 
business capacity of Dr. Hale, were early apprecia- 
ted by his townsmen, by whom he was chosen to 
fill the various offices of surveyor, selectman, assess- 
or, town clerk and treasurer ; besides the duties of 
which, he discharged those of justice of the peace, 
and collector of excise for Essex county. As chair- 
man of the school committee, he took an active and 
efficient part in the measures adopted to improve the 
school system of the town. For thirteen years he 
represented the tov\rn in the General Court, during 

* Col. Hale commenced an account-book in 1723, slill extant, with 
the following sentence : '' Crescit nammi amor quantum pecunia 
crescit." In this book is an inventory of his property, amounting 
July 10, 1729, to £1155,13,3, free from incumbrance. Of this sum, 
he received from his father's estate, £790,10,5, and of his mother's 
thirds, £300. In a note to this inventory, he says : " As my father 
died five years before I came of age, it cost me £300 at least, out 
of my estate, for my education, so that by marrying and industry, 
with God's blessing, I have gained £365 in about six years." 



40 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

which time he was chairman of several important 
committees, and a member of many more, and par- 
ticularly of the committee to inquire respecting the 
impressment of certain seamen in Nantasket Roads, 
by officers of the British navy, an event made mem- 
orable in our history by being the occasion of serious 
riots in Boston. 

In 1726, Dr. Hale made a public profession of reli- 
gion, by uniting with the first church, then under the 
ministry of Rev. Thomas Blowers. In 1735 he was 
engaged in controversies and discussions growing out 
of ecclesiastical difficulties in the first church in Sa- 
lem, and in settling the form of church discipline in 
the first church in this town; and from 1728 to 1743 
inclusive, the parish records present ample evidence 
of his abundant labors and powerful influence in the 
management of ecclesiastical and parochial concerns. 

In 1740, the pecuniary embarrassments of the prov- 
ince led to various projects for relief Among these 
was an institution known as the Land Bank, with a 
capital of £150,000, predicated on real estate. Of 
this company Col. Hale was a manager, by whom 
the plan of operations was drafted. This scheme, 
from the hope it inspired, was favorably received by 
a large body of the people, but met with determined 
hostility from Governor Belcher and his council ; 
and when Col. Hale presented a copy of the plan to 
be recorded in the secretary's office, it was returned 
as an indignity. The enmity of the governor prompt- 
ed him to visit his displeasure upon all persons con- 
nected with the institution. He issued a proclama- 
tion declaring his determination to dismiss every offi- 
cer, civil or military, who persisted " in being any 
way concerned, or giving any encouragement what- 
soever, to the passing" of the Land Bank notes ; 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 41 

and Col. Hale, unwilling to sacrifice his independ- 
ence, as well as to prove faithless to an enterprize in 
which he had conscientiously embarked, tendered 
his resignation to the governor. 

The course pursued by the governor, in dismissing 
civil and military officers on the grounds referred to, 
was regarded as an unwarrantable usurpation of 
power : and the exasperation it produced seriously 
threatened open rebellion. Energetic measures were 
adopted to prevent an outbreak. Public sentiment, 
however, could not be controlled, and so powerfully 
was it felt in the royal councils, that in 1741 his 
excellency was recalled, and succeeded in office by 
William Shirley.^ Gov. Belcher was doubtless hon- 
est in his intentions of reform, but injudicious in the 
use of means. He was subsequently placed in the 
government of New Jersey, in consideration, it is 
supposed, of the '• terrible shock" to his feelings 
produced by his removal. f 

* Since writing the foregoing, I have been favored with the peru- 
sal of a letter in the possession of Mr. Robert Peele, of Salem, writ- 
ten b)^ Thomas Hutchinson to a friend in this country, dated London, 
May 14th, 1741, from which the following extract is made : '' I sup- 
pose you will have the first news of Mr. Shirley's being appointed 
our governor by a vessel which sailed a few days ago from Swanzy. 
Several incidents have occurred to promote it. The collector's place 
was promised Mr. Shirley's family, and it is said is now insisted 
on for Mr. Frauklyn, and this was a way to satisfy both. Your 
two countrymen, Waldo and Kelly, claim the merit, and say it is 
owing to their gratifying the Duke of Grafton, by making interest 
for Lord Euston at Coventry, where they have spent a month, 
first and last, soliciting his election. But I had it from Lord 
President's own mouth, that Governor Belcher's security for some 
time had been his steady conduct in the affair of the money, and 
that his brother Partridge, patronizing the Land Bank when be- 
fore the House of Commons, had done his business." 

J Hist. Mass. Currency. 
4'^ 



42 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

In 1745^ Dr. Hale received the commission of colo- 
nel, and commanded a regiment in the expedition 
against Louisburg. This expedition was projected 
by Governor Shirley. The land force employed 
consisted of 3,200 men from Massachusetts, 300 from 
New Hampshire, 300 from Rhode Island, and 500 
from Connecticat, all under the command of Gen. 
William Pepperell. The naval force, for co-opera- 
tion, was from England, and commanded by Com- 
modore Warren. For this enterprize a company 
was enlisted in Beverly, under the command of 
Capt. Benjamin Ives, son-in-law to Col. Hale. " The 
hardships of the siege were without parallel in all 
preceding American operations. The army was 
employed for fourteen nights successively, in draw- 
ing cannon, mortars, &c., for two miles, through a 
morass, to their camp. The Americans were yoked 
together, and performed labor beyond the power of 
oxen, which labor could be done only in the night, 
or in a foggy day ; the place being within clear view 
and random shot of the enemy's walls. "^ Of these 
fatigues. Col. Hale's regiment freely partook. His 
position was one of imminent danger, and, though a 
part of the time suffering from disease, he proved 
himself an efficient officer.f 

The fall of this " Dunkirk of America," upon for- 
tifying which twenty-five years of labor and thirty 
millions of livres had been expended, astonished all 
Europe, and filled the colonies with joy. But though 
the merits of Gen. Pepperell were acknowledged by 
the government, who conferred upon him the title of 
baronet, and placed him in the command of a regi- 

* Adams' Hist. N. E. pp. 123, 124. 

t See plan of encampment in Bancroft's Hist. U. S. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 43 

ment in the British estabUshment, there were not 
wanting those in influential stations, who, moved 
with an unworthy jealousy for British glory, sought 
in public and private to undervalue the services of 
the provincial troops. Even Sir Peter Warren, 
blinded by self-esteem, or swayed for a moment by 
an influence inconsistent with the generous frank- 
ness that characterizes a noble mind, sanctioned by 
his silence, at least, the libellous tales of American 
inefficiency. The claims of Gen. Pepperell's army 
to the meed of approbation, had, however, an honor- 
able advocate in the person of a high-minded Briton, 
who was in the expedition, and who was an eye- 
witness to their toil and bravery. He affirms that 
their zeal, unwearied labor, and prompt execution of 
orders, entitle them to the appellation of heroes, and 
suggests that modesty should have dictated to Sir 
Peter Warren to disclaim all honor in the enterprize, 
other than that arising from the blockade of Louis- 
burg with his squadron.^ 

Col. Hale was sensibly alive to American honor ; 
and this ungenerous attempt to wrest from the pro- 
vincial forces the tribute of approbation justly their 
due, deeply wounded his sensibility. In a letter to 
his friend. Col. Pickman, adverting to an account of 
the siege given in a London magazine, he says: " it 
is well known to every one engaged in the expedi- 
tion, that the British fleet never fired a gun, nor lost 
a man, except by sickness, though they have the 
credit of taking the place ; " and he imputes the ex- 
clusive praise of British prowess to a prevalent im- 
pression in England, that it was " impossible that a 

* Letter from ''a British merchant," Mass. Hist. Coll., first se- 
ries, vol. i., p. 110. 



44 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

New England man could be good for any thing " of 
a military character, an imputation which he repels 
with becoming contempt, and instances Braddock's 
defeat and Sir H. Walker's loss of vessels in the 
Canada expedition, as disasters that would never 
have occurred, had not the British commanders been 
too proud to receive advice from provincial officers 
and IVev/ England pilots. The great error of the 
British government, in all their provincial enterprizes 
v\rhich failed of success, he shows, consisted in the 
appointment of foreign officers to the command of 
troops raised here; when between the former and 
latter there was no reciprocity of respect or confi- 
dence. While at Louisburg, Col. Hale enclosed a 
piece of ground for cultivation, which is still famili- 
arly known to our fishermen, who visit it, as Col. 
Hale's garden. 

The influence acquired b}^ Col. Hale, as a member 
of the General Court, and his prominence in public 
affairs generally, probably led to the appointment he 
received from the Legislature, in 1747, of commis- 
sioner to New York, to adopt measures in relation to 
the general defence. 

In 1755, when the government of Massachusetts 
Bay had determined on an expedition against the 
French, and the reduction of Crown Point, Col. Hale 
was selected by Governor Shirley as a suitable agent 
to lay the subject before the government of New 
Hampshire, and solicit their aid. His commission 
bears date Feb. 22d, 1755, and the same day he re- 
ceived from the governor a series of instructions, by 
v/hich he was to conduct the negotiation. They run 
as follows : 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 45 

" You are hereby directed forthwith to proceed to Portsmouth, 
with my despatches to his excellency, Benning Wentworth, Esq., 
Gov. of that Province. Upon your arrival there, and appearance 
either before the Governor and Council or the Genl. Assembly of 
that Province, or before the Governor alone (as you may have op- 
portunity), you are strongly to solicit the joining of that government 
with this and the other two governments of N. Eng. &c. in a vig- 
orous and speedy prosecution of the expedition proposed in my 
speech to the Assembly of this Province, and to contribute to- 
wards the execution of it, that government's quota of men and 
provisions, set forth in the said Assembly's Resolves, a copy of 
which, as also of my said speech, will be delivered to you : and 
you are in a particular manner, among such reasons and argu- 
ments as shall occur to you, for inducing them to join in the said 
expedition, to urge those which are contained in my aforesaid 
speech, and in my letters to the respective Governors, copies of 
which last shall likewise be delivered to you. 

" In case you shall not be able to induce the said government to 
join in the prosecution of the said expedition, upon the terms pro- 
posed in the before mentioned resolves of the Great and Genl. 
Assembly of this Province, you are to desire of them to let you 
know whether they will join in it upon any, and what, other terms, 
together with the reasons of their non-compliance with those pro- 
posed by this government. 

" Lastly. You are, from time to time, to transmit to me accounts 
of your proceedings herein, and the progress you make in the dis- 
cliarge of this commission, either by the post or express, as the 
occasion may require ; and upon finishing your negociations with 
that government you are to return to Boston, and lay an account 
of your whole proceedings therein, with the final answer of the 
said government, before me. 

" You are to make use or not of the inclosed vote of the As- 
sembly, dated the 27th of Feb., according to your own discretion. 
You are to endeavor to induce the government of New Hampshire 
to raise a greater number of men than what is mentioned as their 
quota, in the resolves of the Assembly, dated Feb'y, provisionally, 
viz : in case the government of New York shall not raise the eight 

hundred men allotted to them to raise. 

"W. Shirley." 



46 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

The appointment of Col. Hale on this service was 
most judicious, and met the entire approbation of 
Governor Wentworth. In reply to a letter from Gov. 
Shirley, urging the necessity of the expedition as an 
effectual means of checkinar the encroachments of the 
French, and proposing to give the command to Col. 
William Johnson, on account of his superior military 
knowledge, and his extensive influence over the In- 
dians of the six nations, to v/hich he heartily assents ; 
Gov. Wentworth adds : 

" With respect to Col. Hale, he will always be well received by 
me, with the power you are pleased to invest him with ; but lest 
some of our wrong-headed people should make opposition to what 
he is charged with from your Excellency, and thereby injure the 
common cause, I should think it best not to make his business 
public until he has consulted me, for a little matter will sometimes 
overset the best concerted measures. He may therefore come in 
a private manner, and if he can convert the Exeter members, who, 
I am certain, will oppose this expedition, he will gain a great 
point, if not a miraculous one." 

Thus commissioned and instructed, Col. Hale pro- 
ceeded to Portsmouth, in fulfilment of his agency. 
The aspect of the business in its earlier stages, may 
be learned from the following letter to Governor 
Shirley, dated 

"Portsmouth, March 15, 1755. 
" Sir : 

I have your Excellency's of yesterday by express, bro't me to 
Mr. Wentworth's, just after dinner with him and the secretary, 
&c., so that I immediately laid before them the enclosed papers, 
which may be of use. 

" My last to your Excellency was yesterday morning by the post, 
when I informed that I was just going to attend the committee of 
both Houses. They consist of four of each House. I had little 
occasion to say much about the necessity of the expedition, being 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 47 

forestalled by the papers sent to Gov. Wentworth, with which the 
secretary (one of the committee) had made tliem acquainted ; only 
I had taken some pains with some in a private way before. The 
difficulty was about the quota and want of money, as in my last. 
When I had endeavored to answer all the objections offered in 
the committee on these two heads, and some others less interest- 
ing, I withdrew, first telling them I would be glad to know their 
report before it was given in. 

" Accordingly, in the afternoon they sent for me, and informed 
me they had agTeed to 100 men. Your Excellency can better 
imagine, than I express, my situation. I soon found it to be the 
sense of the whole committee. I renewed all my former argu- 
ments, but in as different lights as I could, and added others, 
which (being a little reason) then occurred to me. They heard 
me with candor and attention, and after about an hour and a half, 
I took my leave ; first desiring they would take till the morning to 
consider the consequences of such a report. This morning early, 
Col. Gilman, of Exeter, (one of the committee) came to my lodg- 
ings, as I had desired him over night. We began upon it again 
and went through every thing, but it did not then appear to make 
any real impression on him. Being uneasy, I followed him to tlie 
lower House, called him out, and urged some things which had 
escaped me in the former conversation. He seemed better satis- 
fied, and left me about half after ten to go to tlie committee. 
About one. Col. Atkinson sent for me to go with him to dinner 
with the governor. On the road down he told me they had just 
finished ; that the committee had agreed to 500 ; but to find sub- 
sistence only till they arrived at the place of rendezvous, intending 
they shall go the nearest way through the woods. I asked him 
how in that case they would do for shelter by the way. He said 
they should send none but such as should be content to sit down 
on the ground and cover themselves with their heads. Every one 
of the committee, he said, had agreed to the report, and he was 
encouraged it would pass the House — of the board, was no dan- 
ger. The committee are of the most leading men. 

"On Monday, the report Avillbe made, after which I shall move 
for an addition, conditionally, that N. York find no men, but pro- 
visions, &c., having already hinted at it, but not caring to urge it 
till the grand point was secured. I confess I am not yet out of 
pain about the quota ; there being many of the other members 
who don't seem inclined to enter into the reasons why they should 



48 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

raise half so many men as we,- when their province has but a sixth 
part so many as ours.* I shall give my whole attention to the 
affair, until it has the government fiat, and hope to send your Ex- 
cellency the best news by the next post. I should by no means 
have troubled your Excellency with so long and particular a de- 
tail, if I had not thought that my instructions required it. If, in 
that particular, I have misunderstood them, I ask your Excellen- 
cy's excuse, being, sir, 

" Your most obedient, 

" Humble servant, 

"Robert Hale." 

" P. S. Those Piscataqua men will want at least 20 whip saws, 
to cut logs into boards for sheltering tlie army. 

" P. S. 2d. Every branch here affected to wonder how our Court 
could assume to prescribe to each government its quota, but took 
no exceptions to our leading the way." 

The following letter to Hon. John Osborne, chair- 
man of the committee of war, in Boston, furnishes 
some further particulars of this negotiation : - 

" Beverly, April 13, 1755, evening. 
"Sir: 

"When I waited on Gov. Wentworth, at Portsmouth, on Fri- 
day evening, he told me he had that day signed the act relating 
to the expedition, which is conformable to the vote I brought 
from that coml when last there ; but, as New York are now to 
provide men instead of warlike stores and provisions, as our court, 
by the vote of Feb. 27, expected, and as we raise three hundred 
men more than we at first proposed, I hoped that N. Hampshire 
would make some addition. Accordingly, I next morning went 
to the Court House and desired that the house, as soon as met, 
would adjourn, and permit me a conference with them. They 
accordingly did, and I was with them an hour and half, and urged 
every thing in my power to persuade them to find subsistence for 
their men, at least part of the time, and their quota of warlike 

* In 1754 there were but 7000 ratable polls in New Hampshire. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 49 

stores, but without effect. They let me know that they appre- 
hended five hundred men, subsisted to the place of rendezvous, 
and raised and paid by them during the expedition, was their full 
quota of charge, compared with Massachusetts, and much more 
compared with Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York ; and 
though I'm very sure tliey are mistaken with respect to us, yet 
they continued so firm that they did not deliberate half an hour 
before they determined not to make any addition to what they 
have already done. 

" Indeed, this has cost them five weeks' constant application, 
which, being a session of unusual length for them, and they hav- 
ing been, for some days, in hopes to rise that day, 't is not to be 
wondered at that they did not incline to begin (as it were) anew. 

" Their court is adjourned to the 23d instant, when I hope, if 
Gov. Shirley, by letter to Mr. Wentworth, shall think fit to renew 
his instances relative to subsistence, warlike stores, and the en- 
couragement to the Mohawks, they will be induced to do some- 
thing, though I fear it will not be much. As to sending any per- 
son there again, it don't appear to me to be necessary, though if 
any gentleman has a mind to show his superior talents at negotia- 
tion, he will have my hearty wishes for success : I have no great 
opinion of my own. I shall, however, by next post, write to two 
or three of the principal gentlemen of that house, and endeavor 
to prove to them the necessity of their doing something more, 
that their minds may be a little prepared to receive some impres- 
sions next session. In the mean time, Gov. Wentworth assures 
me he shall raise all the men he is able to, even beyond the five 
hundred, which may be a great service to us, if our levies should 
not be complete. 

" I am very sorry my journey has been so fruitless, but I think 
no endeavors of mine have been wanting to show that I am the 
Province's and, 

" Sir, your most faithful, 

" Obedient servant, 

" Rob't Hale. 

" P. S. I have a very great desire to know how many men 
of the four regiments were raised in this province, and how many 
in New Hampshire. I suppose it not difficult to find out by in- 
quiry of the officers ; and though it might give your honor some 
5 



50 HISTORY OF BEVERLY, 

trouble, yet, as it may be of considerable use, I beg the favor I 
may have the account as soon as may be." 

The commission of Col. Hale was conducted with 
great skill, and with entire satisfaction to Gov. Shir- 
ley, whose letters pending the result, partake more 
of confidential friendship, than of official formality. 
In a letter dated March 16th, he writes: "It is a 
peculiar satisfaction to me, that a gentleman in 
whose capacity to conduct so intricate an aff"air, as 
well as important an one as this is, I have the ut- 
most confidence, hath the management of it." After 
some little delay and several interviews with com- 
mittees, to whom Col. Hale presented the subject in 
the light best adapted to obtain their concurrence, 
he succeeded in securing five hundred men as the 
quota of New Hampshire, which, though one hund- 
red less than the number designated by Massachu- 
setts, was a far more favorable result than the oppo- 
sition manifested, warranted him to hope for. 

On his return home. Col. Hale entered with in- 
terest into the arrangements of the expedition ; and, 
to aid those under whose direction they were made, 
he furnished a schedule, predicated upon his mili- 
tary experience, of the principal articles necessary 
for the service. His talents and service entitled 
him to a command in this expedition; and from a 
fragment of a letter to Gov. Shirley, now extant, 
there is ground for the inference that he had reason 
to expect it. But from causes unknown, probably 
from an apprehension on the part of the appointing 
power that his health was inadequate to the fatigues 
of field-service, instead of such appointment, he 
received an offer of a medical post, which he re- 
spectfully but pointedly declined. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLV. 51 

In 1761, Col. Hale received from Governor Francis 
Bernard, a commission of sheriff for Essex county, 
the duties and responsibiUties of which office, he dis- 
charged with characteristic iidehty. 

The Land Bank before referred to, unhke almost 
every other enterprize with which Col. Hale was 
connected, failed of answering the expectations of its 
founders ; not so much perhaps from the imperfec- 
tions of the scheme, as from an opposing influence 
originating in a quarter difficult to reach and equally 
so to resist. But though the course pursued by him 
in this matter, was one that he could review with 
satisfaction, prompted as it had been throughout by 
the purest motives, still, the failure was a source of 
deep mortification ; and the suspicions of fraudulent 
management afloat at the time, entirely unfounded 
as they were in regard to the managers generally, 
and peculiarly unjust as directed against Col. Hale, 
wrought upon a sensitive nature, and seriously 
affected his health and spirits. His highly honora- 
ble and useful life was terminated by lingering sick- 
ness in 1767, in the 65th year of his age. 

The decease of Col. Hale was a severe loss to this 
town. For a period of more than forty years he had 
been connected with its affairs, and was frequently 
its agent for the accomplishment of local objects. 
The many reports drawn up by him which are 
found in the church, parish and town records, dis- 
play a talent for drafting papers in a concise, ener- 
getic and business-hke manner; and the appearance 
of the town and parish records, at the several pe- 
riods when he was clerk, show his accuracy and 
ability in the execution of that office. His charac- 
ter was every where sustained for persevering indus- 
try and active enterprize. He exerted a controlhng 



52 HISTORY OF BEVERLY, 

inflaence over those with whom he was associated, 
and his quahfications to govern were freely admitted. 
Yet in the exercise of this power, he was actuated 
by the dictates of moraUty and rehgion. Few are 
now hving who remember him in \ife, but tradition 
abounds and is redolent with the mention of his vir- 
tues. 

Col. Hale, during his life-time, owned and occu- 
pied the estate that had been the property of both his 
father and grandfather, and which is now in the 
possession of his descendants. He left no sons. His 
eldest daughter, EUzabeth, was married to Mr. Ben- 
jamin Ives, who died about 1773. Robert Hale Ives, 
a son by this marriage, was born July ISth, 1744, 
and soon after his grandfather's decease, was con- 
nected with the public affairs of the town. His son, 
Thomas Poynton Ives, was born in Beverly, April 
9th, 1769, and for forty-three years was an eminent 
merchant in Providence, R. I., where he died April 
30th, 1835, aged sixty-six years. He was of the 
house of Brown & Ives, than which none in this 
country has maintained a higher character for integ- 
rity and well-directed enterprize, and in wliich his 
sons, Moses and Robert Hale Ives, are now part- 
ners. He was distinguished for untiring industry, 
high mercantile probity, unostentatious benevolence, 
generous hospitality, and ardent love of country. 
He was twenty-four years president of the Provi- 
dence Bank, and fifteen years president of the Sav- 
ings Institution in that city. He was a friend and 
liberal benefactor of Brown University, and for forty- 
three years a member of its board of trustees. To 
the community with which he was so long identi- 
fied, he bequeathed an example of unblemished hon- 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 53 

or, and of faithful service for the good of others ; and 
to his children, not only ample fortune, but what is 
far more valuable, the record of a father's worth — 
the simple dignity of his name and character. 



5^ 



REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD 



In the events which preceded the revohition, and 
which resulted in the estabhshinent of an independ- 
ent repubhc, this town took a hvely interest ; and its 
contributions, in talents and treasure, were large and 
efficient. The repeal of the odious, as unwise, stamp 
act, in 1765, was celebrated with illuminations, bon- 
fires, and other demonstrations of triumph. The 
various infractions of colonial rights, on the part of 
Great Britain, were condemned in the most decided 
language ; and from time to time measures were 
adopted for resisting oppression, and for obtaining a 
redress of grievances. The town unanimously con- 
curred in the non-importation plan ; and with a zeal 
scarcely inferior to that which animated the Boston 
'' tea party," sought to abolish the use of the article, 
for the sale of which the East India Company held 
the monopoly. This movement found more grace in 
the eyes of those by whom it was commenced, and 
who yielded to the promptings of the sternest enthu- 
siasm, than in the sight of the gentler sex ; for though, 
to use the expression of a living witness,"^ '' the 
women were all liberty men, and threatened to scald 
the tories," still the delicious infusion of the China 
plant was a luxury all were not quite prepared to 

* Ebenezer Rea. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 55 

repudiate ; and many amusing traditions are extant, 
of expedients practised for its secret enjoyment, se- 
cure from the indignation of the sterner sex, whose 
patriotic ardor enabled them to maintain the most 
rigid self-denial. These arts, however, were some- 
times thwarted, and the " drav/ings" of the " tea- 
caddy," to the chagrin of an expectant coterie, were 
despoiled of their aroma by an unseen, but liberal 
deposit of " Virginia twist." ^ 

In the preliminary measures to which reference 
has been made, the town proceeded with moderation. 
No threats of revolt were uttered, but a determina- 
tion was firmly expressed to preserve the inviolability 
of their rights. In a letter of instruction, addressed 
to their representative, Henry Herrick, Oct. 21, 1765, 
they say, " We cannot, without criminal injustice to 
those glorious princes. King William and Queen Ma- 
ry, or to the memory of our venerable fathers, nor 
without the highest injustice to ourselves and to pos- 
terity, consent to yield obedience to any law what- 
soever, which, by its natural constitution or just con- 
struction, deprives us of the liberty of trial by juries; 
or of our choosing meet persons to represent us in 
the assessing or taxing our estates for his Majesty's 
service. And we do accordingly advise and instruct 
you, our representative, to refuse your consent, in 
any such case, and do all that in you lies, to prevent 
all unconstitutional drafts upon the public treasury." 
In the same letter, they express their unqualified 
disapprobation o'f the riotous attack upon the house 

* A hearty patriot coming home unexpectedly one day, found 
a company of his wife's neighbors assembled to tea. He said 
nothing, but revenged himself by putting a large "quid" of to- 
bacco in the tea-pot. Sometimes, to escape detection, the ladies 
drank their tea in the cellar. 



56 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

of Lieut. Gov. Hutchinson, and others, and declare, 
''that such is our abhorrence of such riotous and 
mobbish behavior, that we are fully determined, as a 
town, to stand by each other in suppressing such 
disorders at all hazards," though, at the same time, 
as at a subsequent meeting, they were opposed to 
the loss being remunerated from the public treasury. 

It would be interesting, did the limits of this vol- 
ume permit, to transcribe the transactions of the 
various town meetings, from 1765 to the close of the 
revolutionary struggle in 1783, as illustrative of the 
patriotism and devotion which animated every breast. 

On the 17th Sept., 1768, they chose Henry Herrick 
a delegate to join with delegates from Boston and 
other towns in convention, to consult and advise on 
the state of the province, in which, however, he was 
to abstain from any act of disrespect to parhament, 
and of disloyalty to the King. In their further in- 
structions to him, as representative. May 22, 1769, 
they say, " We apprehend that no power on earth 
can justly deprive us of our essential rights, and that 
no man can be safe, either as to his life, liberty or 
property, if a contrary doctrine should prevail ; 
therefore we recommend to you a firm, but prudent 
opposition to all unconstitutional measures." 

Among other important measures adopted by the 
town, was the appointment of a committee of corre- 
spondence and safety, which consisted, at different 
periods from 1773 until the close of the war, of John 
Leach, Benjamin Jones, Henry Herrick, Samuel 
Goodridge, Josiah Batchelder, Jr., Josiah Batchelder, 
Joshua Cleaves, Larkin Thorndike, Joseph Wood, 
Nicholas Thorndike, William Bartlett, Andrew Cab- 
ot, Joseph Orne, Benj. Lovett, Jr., Nathan Leach, 
Caleb Dodge, Joseph Rea, Livermore Whittredge, 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 57 

Benjamin Smith, William Longdell, Edmund Giles, 
Jonathan Con ant, John Conant, Isaac Thorndike, 
Isaac Chapman, Thomas Stephens, John Lovett, 3d, 
William Dodge, William Taylor, and Asa Leach. 
Of the letters addressed by this committee to the 
central committee in Boston, the three following 
liave been preserved : 

" To the Committee of Correspondence for the town of Boston: 
" Gentlemen : 
'•Inclosed, you have the transactions of this town, in conse- 
quence of the resolves of the metropolis of this province, and the 
letter of correspondence herewitli transmitted, whereby you will 
perceive the sentiments of this town with regard to the common 
cause in which we are all concerned. In the name of the town 
we return thanks for tlie early care, taken by the town of Boston, 
to communicate the most early intelligence of any alarming cir- 
cumstances that they have, with regard to any infringements on 
our rights as Christians, subjects, or colonists. 

" And, gentlemen, inasmuch as we are all concerned in one 
common cause, we shall esteem it as a favor of a free correspond- 
ence, that we may have the most early intelligence of any interest- 
ing events of a public nature, as you live in the metropolis, that 
we may concur witli you in any salutary constitutional measures 
for the good of all ; and arc, gentlemen, with the greatest regards, 
" Your most humble servants, 
" John Leach, Samuel Goodridge, 

Benj. Jones, Josiah Batchelder, Jr. 

Henry Herrick, 
" Beverly, Jan. 11, 1773." 

The transactions referred to in the foregoing letter 
were the doings of town meetings held Dec. 21, 
1772, and by adjournment, Jan. 5th, 1773, at which 
it was affirmed that " the rights of the colonists 
in particular as men, as Christians, and as sub- 
jects, are studiously, rightly and justly stated by 
the committee of correspondence for the town of 



58 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

Boston," and Col. Henry Herrick, the representative 
from Beverly, is instructed to "endeavor, as much 
as possible, in a legal and constitutional way," to 
effect a redress of the " intolerable grievances'- to 
which the colonies had been subjected, and to secure 
the preservation of all the " rights, liberties and 
privileges, both civil and sacred," guaranteed b}^ the 
charter. Instructions, similar in their tenor, were 
given to Josiah Batchelder, Jr., who was chosen rep- 
resentative to the General Court, Sept. 26, 1774. 



" Gentlemen : 



To the Same. 

"Beverly, Nov. 10, 1773. 



" Yours of the 21st Sept. we have received and observe the 
contents, and are sensible of the justness of the sentiments 
thereof, in which we harmonize, and are fully of opinion that no 
other measures can be come into so salutary as a strict union of 
all the colonies for a redress of the many grievances the colonies 
labor under from the acts of parliament imposing duties on certain 
articles for the express end of raising a revenue on the people of 
the colonies without their consent, out of which revenue the gov- 
ernor and other great officers are paid, whereby they are inde- 
pendent of this province for their support, — as also many other 
grievances, which are so well known we shall not at this time 
enumerate. We are heartily sorry to hear the petition of our as- 
sembly hath not been regarded by our most gracious sovereign 
(as we have been informed), which we fear will be disagreeable to 
many of his majesty's faithful subjects in America. As we live 
at a distance from the metropolis, and can 't possibly have the first 
intelligence, we shall esteem it a favor from you, of any intelli- 
gence, and shall heartily concur Avith you in any salutary meas- 
ures for the recovery of our just rights : and are grieved that his 
majesty is deaf to the complaints of his subjects in America, who, 
we think, are as faithful subjects as any in his dominions. We 
are sensible that the good people of this town are fully in the sen- 
timents you have exhibited to us in your several letters, for which 
we are obliged to you, and hope you will still continue to write to 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 59 

US of every thing- of a public nature you may think worthy of a 
communication. 

" We are, gentlemen, your humble serv'ts 
" And entire friends, 

" Sam'l Goodridge, ClerkJ'^ 
" Signed by order of the Com. of i 
Cor. for the town of Beverly. 

To the Same. 

" Beverly, Jan. 4, 1774. 
" Gentlemen : 

" Yours of Nov. 23d, 1773, and the inclosure, we have received, 
but not till the 11th ultimo, for which we return our warmest 
thanks. As early as possible we comm.unicated yours to our town, 
but the inclemency of the weather hindered a general attendance 
of its inhabitants. The meeting was adjourned to this day. In- 
closed you have the resolution they then came into, by which you 
will perceive the sentiments of this town. We heartily concur 
with you in every salutary measure for preventing the enslaving 
or ruining ourselves and posterity. But we hope, gentlemen, we 
shall have a union amongst ourselves and all our brethren of the 
several colonies on this continent, which we think will be the best 
means to obtain a redress of the many grievances we at present 
labor under. 

" We are, gentlemen, 

" Your sincere friends and humble serv'ts, 

" By order of the Committee of Correspondence, 

" Samuel Goodridge, Clerk.''^ 

The following resolution referred to, was adopted 
at a town meeting, Jan. 4, 1774, in the following 
words : 

" That the method of introducing tea into this prov- 
ince in the method proposed by the British ministry, 
for the benefit of the East India Company, is justly and 
fairly stated by the inhabitants of the town of Boston; 
and that it is the sentiment of this meeting, that they 



60 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

will always, in every salutary melliod, cheerfully 
join with our hrethren of the town of Boston, and 
every other town in this province, in withstanding 
every unlawful measure tending to enslave us, or to 
take our money from us in any unconstitutional 
manner." 

A true copy : attest, 

Joseph Wood, T. Clerk. 

On the 6th and 7th September, 1774, a county 
convention was held at Ipswich, to consider the situ- 
ation of public affairs, in which this town was re- 
presented by Benj. Lovett, Samuel Goodridge, and 
Joseph Wood. Of this convention Jeremiah Lee, 
of Marblehead, was chairman, and John Picker- 
ing, jr. of Salem, clerk. In the report made by a 
committee, which was unanimously accepted, they 
express their loyalty to the king, and their readiness 
to support with their lives and fortunes, his person, 
crown, dignity and constitutional authority. " But," 
they add, '' by the horrors of slavery, by the happi- 
ness attending virtuous freedom, we are constrained 
to declare, that we hold our liberties too dear to be 
sported with, and are therefore, most seriously de- 
termined to defend them. This, in the present dis- 
pute, we conceive may be effected by peaceable 
measures. But though, above all things, slavery 
excepted, we deprecate the evils of a civil war; 
though we are deeply anxious to restore and pre- 
serve harmony with our brethren in Great Britain ; 
yet, if the despotism and violence of our enemies 
should finally reduce us to the sad necessity, we, 
undaunted, are ready to appeal to the last resort of 
states ; and will, in support of our rights, encounter 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. ' 61 

even death, sensible that he can never die too soon, 
who lays down his life in support of the laws and 
liberties of his country." 

To an attentive observer, it was evident that a 
crisis in American affairs was near — that a drama, 
the closing act of which was known only to the 
Ruler of the universe, was soon to open. The 19th 
of April came, mild and with summer's loveliness. 
The sun rose with unclouded splendor, and the hus- 
bandman went forth to his peaceful pursuits, and 
each man to his calling. Soon the scene changed. 
Groups were gathered at the corners of the streets 
in earnest conversation, men were seen hurrying to 
and fro, drums beat to arms, and stern determina- 
tion was depicted on every countenance. What had 
given rise to this commotion 7 The appearance of a 
messenger, proclaiming as he went, that a detach- 
ment from the British army in Boston, had the night 
before left the city in silence, to seize and destroy 
mihtary stores deposited at Concord. The effect 
was electric. The fire of patriotism burst forth with 
volcanic power. Capt. Joseph Rea, who command- 
ed a company of militia, mounted his horse and 
posted with all possible dispatch to the Farms with 
the intelligence, proclaiming it aloud by the way. 
Capt. Caleb Dodg^ and others, following his exam- 
ple, rode off in other directions. The call to resist 
this act of aggression, met a hearty and united re- 
sponse. The farmer left his plough in the field, the 
mechanic his work-shop, and the merchant his store ; 
and before 3 o'clock p. m. a large proportion of the 
male population of the town, capable of bearing 
arms, had gone forth, or were assembled in prepara- 
tion to march to the rescue. 

The consternation felt by the more timid portion 
6 



62 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

of the female population, in prospect of being left 
defenceless, was great. A large number having by 
mutual instinct collected together, their condition 
was freely discussed. "Our husbands and sons are 
gone," they despondingly said, " and none are left 
to protect us. If the regulars come during their ab- 
sence, what will become of us, what shall we do?" 
" Do?" exclaimed a stout-hearted mother present,^^ a 
fair representative of many hearts bold and deter- 
mined as her own ; " Do ? who cares for the regulars ? 
Let them come ; and if they do not behave them- 
selves, we'll take our brooms and drive them out of 
town." 

The British troops paid dear for their success at 
Concord, and their subsequent wanton devastations 
when returning to Boston. The blood shed at Lex- 
ington was the signal for retaliation. The provin- 
cials, finding life and every thing valuable at stake, 
assumed their native valor and returned the fire at 
Concord bridge with deadly effect. As the troops 
retreated, the discharge of musquetry was kept up 
without intermission from walls, fences, houses, 
trees and barns, until they were met by a reinforce- 
ment under the command of Lord Percy, who with 
two field-pieces kept the provincials at bay for a 
time. The people, however, flocking in from all 
quarters in great numbers, the attack was renewed, 
and a galling covered fire was continued until the 
enemy reached Charlestown, having one hundred 
and fifty men killed and wounded, and some taken 
prisoners.! Of the men from Beverly, Reuben Ken- 

*Mrs. Hannah, wife of Josiah Batchelder, jr. 
•^Journals Prov. Congress, Mass. pp. 662, 681, 682. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 63 

nison was killed, and Nathaniel Cleaves, Samuel 
Woodberry and William Dodge were wonnded.^^ 

The effects of this outrage upon the inhabitants 
of Beverly, were such as might be expected on a 
people who understood, and were determined to 
maintain, their rights. In May, the selectmen paid 
£26.10.6 for blankets to be supplied to the army, 
raised for eight months by the province. Other 
sums were subsequently appropriated for the same 
purpose, and purchases were made of the house- 
holders who cheerfully parted with a part of their 
family stock for the public use. In the work of 
supplies, female patriotism was warmly engaged 
during the whole revolutionary contest. Cloth was 
woven, stockings were knit, and garments made for 
the soldiers to a large amount, and every call for aid 
was cheerfully and promptly met. 

On the 16th Jan., 1775, Josiah Batchelder, Jr., was 
chosen to represent the town in a provincial con- 
gress to be held at Cambridge, "to consult and de- 
liberate upon such further measures as, under God, 
shall be effectual to save this people from impending 
ruin, and to secure those inestimable liberties derived 
from our ancestors." 

This year the town voted to raise fifty-six minute 
men, including officers, who were to parade two half 
days in each week, during the pleasure of the town, 
to learn the military art. The vote for paying the 
minute men creating dissatisfaction, as no other 
towns had adopted the practice, it was repealed 
Feb. 29th, just one month after its passage. A mili- 

* The widow of Kennison, after marrying a second time, died 
Oct. 22; 1842, aged 89. She retained in her possession till her death, 
the shirt worn by her first husband when killed. 



64 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

tary watch, of sixteen persons, in four divisions, was 
established, and a watch-house for each division or- 
dered to be built. The committee of correspondence 
were also directed to appoint a captain and other 
necessary officers, with a sufficient number of men, 
to exercise the cannon in the fort or breastwork on 
Woodberry's head, for which service they were to 
be paid a reasonable sum. They were likewise 
directed to enlist " a number of men, to make up 
forty in the whole, to repair to the fort, as their 
alarm-post, in case of an alarm." 

One morning in the autumn of 1775, a privateer 
schooner sailed from Beverly on a cruise. She had 
not been long out, when she was discovered by the 
British ship of war Nautilus, of twenty guns, who 
immediately bore down upon her. The superior 
force of the enemy induced the captain to put back. 
The chase was continued until he gained the harbor 
and grounded on the flats. It being ebb-tide, the 
Nautilus came to anchor outside the bar, and opened 
a fire on the town. The meeting-house being the 
most conspicuous object, several shots were aimed at 
it, one of which penetrated the chaise-house of Thom- 
as Stephens, destroying his chaise, and another struck 
the chimney of a house on the opposite side of the 
street, scattering its fragments in every direction. 
This unceremonious assault proved too much for the 
equanimity of its patriotic occupant. He seized his 
musket, and rushing to the beach, returned the com- 
pliment with hearty good will. Immediately upon 
the commencement of firing, many females residing 
in exposed situations, hastily retired to places of 
greater security. There were some, however, who, 
" made of sterner stuff"," paid little attention to this 
demonstration of hostility, and continued their do- 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 65 

mestic occupations as though nothing uncommon 
was going on. Of this class, was a good lady, the 
wife of a devoted friend to American freedom, who 
was at the moment engaged in preparing a batch of 
bread for the oven. The house she occupied was 
directly in the range of the meeting-house, and Hable 
to be struck by every discharge. Her brother, 
anxious for her safety, came in, and informing her 
of the danger, desired her to take her child, and 
proceed by a circuitous route to a place beyond 
the reach of the enemy's guns, while he would rally 
a company to resist any attempt to land. To this 
she demurred ; she felt no alarm. Besides, her oven 
was heating, the bread was nearly ready, and as to 
leaving before it was set in, she could not think of 
it ! She was finally prevailed on to forego this reso- 
lution and retire. As she was passing around the 
south-eastern corner of the common, curiosity pre- 
vailed over apprehension; and, climbing upon the 
wall, she stood in full view of the enemy's vessel, 
surveying the scene, until a cannon-ball striking the 
earth near her, gave decided intimation that it was 
time to depart. 

The alarm spread rapidly, and soon men were seen 
with their fire-arms hurrying from every quarter to 
the defence of the landing. Among the earliest on 
the ground, was Col. Henry Herrick, an active mem- 
ber of the committee of correspondence, and whose 
patriotic spirit greatly contributed to the energetic 
action of the town in furnishing men and supplies 
for the army. The confusion of the moment did 
not make him forgetful of the dignity of his ofii- 
cial character ; and with characteristic regard for 
effect, and disregard of danger, he appeared on the 
beach in full mihtary costume, a conspicuous mark 



66 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

for the enemy's aim. The commander of the Nau- 
tihis soon found himself in an awkward position. 
Owing to an unkicky choice of anchorage, the re- 
ceding tide left his vessel aground, which careened 
so that he was unable to bring a single gun to bear. 
In the mean time, the citizens of Salem opened a fire 
upon her from the Hospital point, with several four 
and six pounders, while a number of good marks- 
men, concealed among the rocks on the Beverly side, 
rendered it hazardous for an officer or man to appear 
on deck. In this condition, without power to ofier a 
single token of his good or ill will, he lay until dark, 
when, the tide floating his vessel, he weighed anchor 
and stood out to sea, carrying with him no very 
pleasant recollections of his introduction to the citi- 
zens of this town. 

The importance of fortifying the town was now 
apparent. Breastworks were thrown up on Wood- 
berry's point and Paul's head, and furnished with 
cannon, and measures were adopted to procure a 
supply of ammunition. The committee of safety 
applied, through William Bartlett, Esq., the navy 
agent, to General Washington for assistance, who 
directed the following reply : 

" Cambridge, 13th Dec. 1775. 
"Sir: 

" Your letter of the 11th, with a petition from the committee of 
correspondence for the town of Beverly to his Excellency, is come 
to hand. The General desires me to inform the committee that 
he would have great pleasure to comply with their request in the 
fullest extent, could he do it consistent with that attention which 
he must pay to the safety of the whole ; that you may spare them 
such pieces of cannon as are not at present absolutely necessary 
for the armed vessels ; that you may also spare them such a 
quantity of the shot that is on board the brig, as they may think 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 67 

necessary for their immediate use, taking from the committee an 
obligation to return the same, or the value of them, because these 
articles must be made good to the captors and the continent. 

" As to the article of powder, that is of a very delicate nature ; 
but to show his willingness to serve the good people of Beverly, 
it is his Excellency's desire that you keep in your possession what 
powder you have found on board the prizes, making an immediate 
return of the quantity unto him. If it should so happen that the 
town and harbor is attacked by the enemy, the General consents 
that you lend the same unto the committee, at the same time 
taking their obligation, for reasons as before assigned for the 
shot. This is the most effectual way his Excellency can think of 
to answer the prayer of their petition, and this you will please to 
communicate unto them. 

" I am sir, your most ob't serv't, 

" Stephen Moylan, P. T. S. 

" William Bartlett, Esq." 

In Jan. 1776, the town voted to hire twenty-four 
men to guard on the seacoast by night-watches, at 
West's beach and near Benj. Smith's house. Of 
these watches Benj. Smith and Azariah Woodberry 
were appointed captains, and £100 were provided to 
defray the expenses of guarding the town. At this 
time, Col. Glover, with the 14th regiment of the con- 
tinental army, was stationed here, who maintained a 
watch at the fort. 

The progress of events had now prepared the pub- 
lic mind for the declaration " that these United Colo- 
nies are, and of right ought to be. Free and Inde- 
pendent States;" and in anticipation of such a meas- 
ure, the town, at a meeting June 13, 1776, twenty- 
one days before it transpired, voted, that should the 
Continental Congress, for the safety of the colonies, 
declare them independent of Great Britain, they 
solemnly pledged " their lives and fortunes to sup- 



GS HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

port them in it." The General Court having recom- 
mended to the towns to consider the proposed arti- 
cles of confederation and union among the states, 
the town, at a meeting Feb. 4, 1778, empowered and 
instructed its representative to act and do anything 
relative thereto, that in his judgment would be most 
for the public good. May 22d, the constitution of 
government devised by a convention of the State, 
having been laid before the town for its considera- 
tion, it was rejected by a vote of 22 to 3 ; and George 
Cabot, Rev. Joseph Willard and William Bartlett, 
were appointed a committee to draft instructions to 
the representative, expressing the reasons of dissent. 
It is an elaborate and interesting document, evincing 
a thorough acquaintance with the subject ; and while 
it disclaims all disposition " to prevent good order, 
and encourage anarchy and opposition to equal gov- 
ernment," it claims the right of opposing, " with a 
decent, but manly and zealous freedom," any form 
which they conscientiously think '• does not tend to 
the public welfare." 

In 1778, a requisition was made on the town to 
reinforce the army in Rhode Island ; and the three 
captains of the militia companies, assisted by their 
subalterns, were authorized to obtain the quota on 
the best terms possible, " giving the preference to 
town inhabitants." 

Paper money had at this period so much deprecia- 
ted as to demand an effort for its improvement ; and 
July 12, 1779, Geo. Cabot and Joseph Wood were 
appointed delegates to a convention to be held at 
Concord, for the purpose of •' adopting such meas- 
ures as shall be necessary to carry into effect, by 
common consent, the important object of appreciat- 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 69 

ing the paper currency." At a subsequent meeting, 
the proceedings of this convention were highly ap- 
proved. A county convention having been held at 
Ipswich, Aug. 19, to regulate the prices of labor, 
produce, and other articles, the proceedings were 
approved and adopted by the town, and a committee 
appointed to prepare a list, and cause it to be print- 
ed, for the use of the inhabitants. This list com- 
prises nearly one hundred articles, from which the 
following are selected : West India rum, X6.6.0 per 
gal.; N. England, £4.16.0; molasses, £4.7.0 ; coffee, 
18s. per lb. ; chocolate, 24s. ; corn, £4.16.0 per bush.; 
rye, £6; beans, £7.10.0; house carpenter's labor, 
£3.6s,8d. per day ; mason's, 80 to 92s ; shoeing a 
horse all round, plain, £5.8.0 ; neat's leather or calf- 
skin shoes, £7.7.0 ; making suit of clothes, superfine 
broadcloth, £18 ; spinning 20 knots linen yarn, 10s. 
8d; mug of flip or toddy, made of good W. I. rum, 
15s; a good dinner at the tavern, £1.1.0; sexton, 
for digging the grave of a grown person, £4.10.0. 
These prices were those paid in currency, and not 
in silver, one dollar of which, in 1781, was equal to 
$40 of the new emission paper, and $3200 of the old. 
In 1779, a fine of £5400 was assessed on the town 
by the General Court, for failing to supply the num- 
ber of militia required by a previous resolve; and 
March 13, 1780, a petition for its remission was pre- 
pared. The petition stated, that the town had ever 
been a steady friend and firm advocate of the revo- 
lution, and that the present delinquency was a con- 
sequent of " early and punctual compliance with 
precedent requisitions," which had exhausted them 
of men and much money. Appeal is made to the 
public records, in evidence " that their quota of the 



70 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

coiitiiiental army in 1777, and the many levies of 
militia, had been furnished with a steadiness equal- 
led in but few other places :" to which it is added, 
" that as a town they had furnished more men, and 
been at greater expense in carrying on the war, than 
almost any other town, in proportion to their abili- 
ties" — a fact that the proceedings of numerous town 
meetings, from 1765 to 1783, conclusively demon- 
strate. 

In August, this year, George Cabot and Joseph 
Wood were elected delegates to a convention to meet 
at Cambridge, on the 1st Sept. following, for the 
purpose of framing a new State constitution. At 
the town meeting in May, 1780, it was submitted for 
consideration ; and, after being read and discussed, 
it was referred to Josiah Batchelder, George Cabot, 
and Rev. Joseph Willard, " to revise, examine, and 
make such remarks on the same as they might think 
best." At an adjourned meeting the subject was 
further discussed, and the report of the committee, 
together with sundry proposed amendments and in- 
structions, was adopted by a unanimous vote. 

From the commencement of the war until its ter- 
mination, this town was largely engaged in priva- 
teering. Between March and November, 1781, fifty- 
two vessels, carrying 746 guns, with crews of 3940 
men, were fitted out and chiefly owned in Salem and 
Beverly.^ Among the successful commanders were 
Captains Eleazer Giles, Elias Smith, Hugh Hill, and 
Benjamin Lovett. In 1776, Capt. Giles sailed from 
this port in a brig of ten guns, and soon after fell in 
with a fleet of merchantmen, laden with stores, 

* Felt's Annals. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 71 

bound from Jamaica to London, four of 'which he 
succeeded in capturing, viz: the ship Lucia, 400 
tons, brigs Alfred, Success, and another, name un- 
known, of 300 tons each. On another cruise he 
was less successful. Falling in with a British ves- 
sel, of equal or superior force, and relying on the 
boasted bravery of a newly shipped crew, he gave 
battle. Immediately upon the attack, a portion of 
his men proved by their conduct that his confidence 
in their bravery had been misplaced ; and after a 
short, but sharp engagement, in which he was 
wounded, he was compelled to surrender, and was 
carried into Halifax. 

Capt. Smith, a courageous and dignified officer, 
commanded the ship Mohawk, of 20 guns, and 
cruised off" the West Indies. In 1781 he fell in with, 
and after a short engagement captured, a Guineaman 
of 16 guns, which he sent into Beverly. When the 
captain came on board to surrender his sword, he 
was presented to Capt. Smith, who stood abaft the 
wheel, clad in a sailor's coarse pea-jacket, with a 
red bandanna tied round his head, as a substitute 
for a tarpaulin. " Do you command this vessel, 
sir?" inquired the captain of the slaver. "Yes, 
sir," replied Smith, folding his arms, and with char- 
acteristic politeness making a very low bow, " in the 
room of a better." 

Capt. Hill, who came early to this country from 
Ireland, commenced privateering in the Pilgrim, of 
twenty guns, the building of which he superintended 
at Newburyport. He was a brave and generous offi- 
cer, and distinguished for humanity to his prisoners. 
On one cruise, while sailing with the English ensign 
at mast-head as a decoy, he was boarded by the 
captain of a British vessel of war, who not suspect- 



72 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

ing the character of his entertainer, remarked that he 
was "in search of that notorious Hugh Hill." Un- 
prepared at the moment for an engagement with so 
formidable a foe, Capt. Hill replied that he was on 
the look-out for the same individual, and hoped soon 
to meet him. After spending some time on board 
without penetrating the disguise, the officer departed. 
In the course of a few days, Captain Hill again en- 
countered his visiter. The American flag was imme- 
diately run up, and an engagement ensued, which 
resulted in the capture of his British antagonist, who, 
with his vessel, was sent into Beverly. Capt. Hill's 
principal theatre of action was the coast of Ireland, 
where he captured many vessels, and greatly annoyed 
British commerce. After leaving the Pilgrim, he 
commanded the Cicero, and took several prizes. 
Probably more captured vessels were brought into 
this port than into any other in New England, the 
cargoes of which furnished important and seasonable 
supplies for the continental army. 

Among the enterprizing and successful commanders 
not engaged in privateering, was Capt. John Tittle. 
During the revolutionary war, he sailed in a letter of 
marque, in company with two other vessels, for a 
port in France. They were fallen in with by three 
British cruisers ; and as, from the superiority of force, 
resistance appeared vain, Tittle's companions bore 
off before the wind, with the hope of escape. One 
succeeded, and the other was captured. In the mean- 
time, Capt. T. was attacked by two of the enemy, 
and, nothing daunted, returned their fire for the space 
of two hours, by which time all his canvass above 
the lower yards was shot away. The crew, over- 
come with fear by the seeming desperation of their 
situation, began to abandon the guns — whereupon 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 73 

the captain drew his sword, and ordering them back to 
duty, threatened to run the first man through who 
again left his quarters. At this moment the third 
enemy bore up, and haihng Capt. T. commanded him 
to strike his colors. To this he replied, " It will be 
time enough to strike when compelled;" and then 
addressing the crew, '' we 'U try them a little longer.'" 
The battle was continued another hour with great 
spirit ; when a shot taking effect between wind and 
water, silenced one of the enemy, and night coming 
on, they all drew off and left Capt. T. to pursue his 
voyage without further molestation. 

Foremost among the officers and soldiers in the 
revolution, from this town, and eminent also as an 
enterprizing and valued citizen, was Col. Ebenezer 
Francis. He was born at Medford, Mass., Dec. 22, 
1743, and in 1764 removed to Beverly. 

His opportunities for acquiring an education in 
youth, had been quite defective. But, by diligent 
self-culture, he had early fitted himself to engage 
extensively and successfully in business transactions, 
and to take a respectable stand by the side of the best 
educated and informed, in the prominent stations he 
afterwards occupied before the town and his country. 
Notwithstanding the disadvantages, in this respect, 
under which he had labored, and which he had been 
obliged by himself mainly to overcome — probably 
induced, in no small measure, by this very circum- 
stance — he took a warm and efficient interest in the 
schools. And it is worthy of mention, as evincing 
at once his interest in them and his resolute spirit, 
that in one instance, when the scholars of one of the 
districts, (now called the Cove district,) had risen 
against their master, and compelled him to abandon 
7 



74 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

his post, he immediately undertook the government 
and instruction of the school, and very soon not only 
quelled the rebellion, but restored a wholesome state 
of discipline and improvement. 

In 1766 he was married to Miss Judith Wood, by 
whom he had four daughters and a son. He was 
actively and extensively engaged in business till the 
war broke out. He had, however, taken a deep in- 
terest in the political agitations which preceded it. 
Convinced that resort must finally be had to arms in 
deciding the controversy between this and the mother 
country, he paid much attention to military science 
and exercises himself, and encouraged it as far as he 
could in his fellow-patriots. His three brothers par- 
took of the same martial spirit, and all of them be- 
came officers in the revolutionary service. By his 
stature, which was tall and imposing, as well as by 
talents and character, he was fitted to command. 
Accordingly, he at once occupied a prominent stand 
among those who, on the first shedding of blood, 
were ready to take up arms. In less than three 
months from the commencement of hostilities, he re- 
ceived a captain's commission from the Continental 
Congress, which was dated July 1, 1775. Early in 
the following year, he had risen to the rank of Colo- 
nel, and commanded a regiment stationed on Dor- 
chester heights, near Boston, from Aug. to Dec. 
1776. Under his prompt and thorough discipline, 
his men were shortly trained ; so that in his regi- 
mental orders of Aug. 29, 1776, he " flatters himself 
that they will soon attain that degree of soldiership 
that will be but a little inferior to the most veteran 
troops." By a commission dated Nov. 19, 1776, he 
was authorized by Congress to raise a regiment in 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 75 

the State of Massachusetts ; — which was raised, un- 
der the name of the 11th Massachusetts regiment, 
and retained that designation through the war. At 
the head of this regiment, Col. Francis marched in 
Jan. 1777, to Ticonderoga. With that regard for 
rehgion, which was a characteristic of his hfe, he — 
previously to setting out on the march — had his regi- 
ment assembled to attend religious services in the 
meeting-house of the first parish. Those who re- 
member that occasion, express in glowing terms their 
recollections of its interest and solemnity. Associ- 
ated with him on that perilous expedition into the 
wilderness, were many brave and noble spirits, and 
some of them highly educated. His revered and 
beloved pastor. Rev. Mr. Hitchcock, of the second 
parish, in Beverly, and afterwards minister of a 
church in Providence, R. Island, accompanied the 
regiment as chaplain, having succeeded in that sta- 
tion the celebrated Dr. Cutler, of Hamilton. Henry 
Herrick, a graduate of Harvard College, and, after 
the war, a distinguished teacher in Beverly, was 
adjutant of the regiment. Moses Green leaf, collector 
of Nevvburyport, under the federal government, and 
father of Prof Greenleaf, now of the law college, at 
Cambridge, was a captain in it. A private journal 
of Capt. Greenleaf, which is now in the library of 
the Massachusetts Historical Society, narrates the 
principal events which occurred while the regiment 
was stationed at Ticonderoga, and afterward, on its 
retreat, with the rest of the garrison, before the over- 
powering forces of Burgoyne. From that is gathered 
the following graphic, though melancholy sketch of 
the closing scenes in the life of Col. Francis. " 14th 
June, heard enemy's morning gun — Indians and 



76 HISTOPxY OF BEVERLY. 

Others near — skirmishes, 2d July, enemy advance, 
with two frigates of twenty-eight guns and fifty gun- 
boats — land troops about two miles from us. Satur- 
day, 5th July, at 12 o'clock, spied British troops on 
the mountain overlooking Ticonderoga — at 9, receiv- 
ed the disagreeable news of leaving the ground. At 
2, next morning, left Ticonderoga — at 4, Mount In- 
dependence ; after a most fatiguing march, arrived 
same day at Hubbardton, (near Whitehall, N. Y.), 
twenty-two miles from Mount Independence — sup- 
ped with Col. Francis — encamped in the woods, the 
main body going on about four miles. Monday, 7th 
July, 1777, breakfasted with Col. F. At 7, he came 
to me, and desired me to parade the regiment, which 
I did : at 7J he came in haste to me, told me an ex- 
press had arrived from Gen. St. Clair, informing that 
we must march with the greatest expedition, or the 
enemy would be upon us, — also, that they had taken 
Skeensborough, with all our baggage ; — ordered me 
to march the regiment — immediately marched a part 
of it. At twenty minutes past 7, the enemy appeared 
within gunshot of us ; we faced to the right, when 
the firing began, which lasted till 8f a. m., without 
cessation. Numbers fell on both sides ; among ours, 
the brave and ever to be lamented Col. Francis, who 
fought bravely to the last. He first received a ball 
through his right arm, but still continued at the head 
of our troops, till he received the fatal wound 
through his body, entering his right breast ; he 
dropped on his face. Our people, being overpowered 
by numbers, were obliged to retreat over the moun- 
tains, enduring on their march great privations and 
sufterings." Thus fell, in the prime of manhood, 
one of the most promising ofiicers of the revolution, — 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 77 

one whose bravery and valor, friends and foes alike 
were forward to acknowledge — whose worth, the 
aged, that knew him, still delight to recount, and 
whose untimely loss they yet with flowing tears 
lament. 

The following excellent letter from his pastor and 
the chaplain of his troops, conveyed the sad tidings 
of his fall to her, who was most nearly and deeply 
interested in the event. 

"Moses Creek, July 21, 1777. 
"Dear Mrs. Francis: 

" My heart is filled with compassion and sympathy for you, 
while I relate the melancholy tale of the fall of my dear friend, 
the Colonel. You will consider this event as under the government 
of that God, who has an undoubted right to do as seemeth Him 
good, and therefore, endeavor to command your passions into a 
silent submission to His will. If there is any consolation in the 
gospel, I think you may accept it. I doubt not, your loss is his 
greater gain : I can witness to his uniformly good conduct in the 
army, in discountenancing vice, and encouraging virtue ; in set- 
ting before his men an example of sobriety, and an attendance 
upon duties of piety. No officer so noticed for his military accom- 
plishments and regular life as he. He lived universally beloved, 
the loss of him as generally lamented. While these things make 
you look upon your loss the greater they might administer to you 
unspeakable consolation. He was not unmindful of the dangers 
of the field, being appointed to bring up the rear-guard. He 
supposed it probable they might be attacked, and therefore, de- 
sired me to take care of his knapsack with what was in it, if I 
could not save anything else, which I did, though I lost my 
clothes by doing it. He was in good spirits v/hen I parted with 
him the evening before the retreat. He mentioned his being 
equally exposed to fall with others, but seemed willing to commit 
himself to Providence, and leave the event. His conduct in the 
field, is spoken of in the highest terms of applause. He has em- 
balmed his name in immortal fame. I must conclude by wishing 
7# 



78 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

you all Divine supports. Trust in God. He will provide for you 
and the fatherless children. 

" From your sincere and affectionate friend, 

"E. Hitchcock." 

Subjoined are extracts from '' Travels in America, 
by a British officer,'' who was in the battle of Hub- 
bardton, and afterwards quartered as prisoner in the 
vicinity of Boston. 

" The rear guard of the enemy was composed of chosen men, 
commanded by a Col. F., who was reckoned one of their best 
officers. 

" At the commencement of the action the enemy were every 
where thrown into the greatest confusion ; but being rallied by 
that brave officer, Col. Francis, whose death, though an enemy, 
will ever be regretted by those who can feel for the loss of a 
gallant and brave man, the fight was renewed with the greatest 
degree of fierceness and obstinacy. 

" A few days since, walking out with some officers, we stopped 
at a house to purchase vegetables. Whilst the other officers 
were bargaining witli the woman of the house, I observed an 
elderly woman sitting by the fire, who was continually eyeing us, 
and every now and then shedding a tear. Just as we were quit- 
ting the house she got up, and bursting into tears, said, ' gentle- 
men, will you let a poor distracted woman speak a word to you 
before you go ?' We, as you must naturally imagine, were all 
astonished ; and upon inquiring what she wanted, with the most 
poignant grief and sobbing as if her heart was on the point of 
breaking, asked if any of us knew her son, who was killed at the 
battle of Hubbardton, a Col. Francis. Several of us informed 
her that we had seen him after he was dead. She then inquired 
ajjout his pocket-book, and if any of his papers were safe, as 
some related to his estates, and if any of the soldiers had got his 
watch ; if she could but obtain that in remembrance of her dear, 
dear son, she should be happy. Capt. Ferguson, of our regiment, 
who was of the party, told her, as to the Colonel's papers and 
pocket-book, he was fearful they were either lost or destroyed ; 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 79 

but pulling a watch from his fob, said, * there, good woman, if 
that can make you happy, take it, and God bless you.' We were 
all much surprized, as unacquainted that he had made a purchase 
of it from a drum-boy. On seeing it, it is impossible to describe 
the joy and grief that was depicted in her countenance ; I never 
in all my life beheld such a strength of passion ; she kissed it, 
looked unutterable gratitude at Capt. Ferguson, then kissed it 
again ; her feelings were inexpressible ; she knew not how to 
express or show them ; she would repay his kindness by kind- 
ness, but could only sob her thanlis ; our feelings were lifted up 
to an inexpressible height ; we promised to search after the pa- 
pers, and I believe at that moment, could have hazarded life it- 
self to procure them." 

This watch is now in the possession of Col. Fran- 
cis' son, Ebenezer Francis, Esq. of Boston. 

John Francis, a brother of Col. Francis, was born 
in Medford, Sept. 28th, 1753, and previously to the 
revolutionary war, removed to this town. At the 
commencement of the struggle for freedom, he en- 
tered the service of his country. He was an adju- 
tant in the regiment commanded by his brother, and 
fought by his side in the battle of Hubbardton. He 
subsequently held the same office in the regiment 
under the command of Col. Benj. Tupper, and con- 
tin tied in the war during the first six years, an ac- 
tive and rising officer. He was in several battles, 
was wounded at the capture of Burgoyne, and re- 
tired, with honor, from the army. In 1786, he raised 
a company in Beverly and Danvers, and marched in 
Col. Wade's regiment, to suppress Shays' rebellion. 
He was captain of the militia company in the second 
parish, and afterwards commanded the Beverly regi- 
ment. He was also for many years a selectman, and 
served in other important municipal offices. He was 
amiable in his domestic relations, and much esteemed 



80 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

for his hospitality and cheerfulness. He died July 
30th, 1822, in the 69th year of his age. 

Capt. Joseph Rea, of whom mention has been 
made in the preceding pages, was the son of Gideon 
Rea, who owned and lived on the estate now the 
property of Mr. Edward T. Proctor, in the second 
parish. He was born in 1736, baptized by Mr. 
Chipman, Aug. 1, the same year, and died in 1798, 
in his 63d year. He was an efficient member of the 
committee of correspondence, and commanded a 
company enlisted in Beverly and Lynn, sent to the 
aid of Washington, in New Jersey. His sons were 
Isaac, Gideon, Joseph and Ebenezer. 

Ebenezer Rea is still living, at the advanced age of 
eighty-tv/o. He was fifteen when the battle of Lex- 
ington took place, and retains a vivid recollection of 
events that transpired in this town during the revo- 
lutionary war. In 1778, he enlisted under Capt. 
Jeremiah Putnam, of Dan vers, from whose company 
he was drafted, with others, to fill up a regiment sta- 
tioned at East Greenwich, R. I. After his term of 
service expired, he shipped on board the Resource, 
Capt. Richard Ober, of Beverly, and sailed for the 
West Indies. On the voyage he was taken by a Brit- 
ish sloop-of-war, and carried into Jamaica. Here, 
instead of being confined as prisoners, he and a part 
of the crew were transferred, as sailors, to the frigate 
Pelican, Capt. Collingwood, afterwards second in com- 
mand with Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar, and for 
more than a year was not permitted to go on shore.^ 



* Capt. Collingwood is described, by Mr. Rea, as of a tall, com- 
manding figure, dark complexion, with black eyes, from whose 
piercing glance nothing on shipboard escaped. He was a rigid dis- 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 81 

While cruising on that station, in August, 1781, the 
PeUcan encountered a severe hurricane, and was 
wrecked on the rocks of Morant Keys. Four of the 
crew were lost. The remainder succeeded in reach- 
ing a small, uninhahited island, on rafts, where they 
remained ten days, with but little food, and were 
taken off by the Diamond frigate, which came to 
their relief from Jamaica. On returning to that island, 
Mr. Rea and several of his shipmates were put on 
board the Hinchinbroke, and one da}^, while lying at 
Port Royal, they obtained permission to go on shore. 
Tempted by so favorable an opportunity, they deter- 
mined to desert from a service into which they had 
been forced, and, if possible, return to their native 
land. The resolution was more easily formed than 
executed. Unforeseen obstacles beset their design : 
and, after wandering up and down the island for 
twenty-five days, inventing various stories to escape 
suspicion, and heartily wishing more than once that 
they had never undertaken a plan so seemingly im- 
practicable, they were forced to return to the very 
place from which they started. Fortunately, they 
unobserved got on board a cartel ship, bound to Ha- 
vana, with Spanish prisoners, the commander of 
which was in want of seamen. They frankly in- 
formed him who they were and what they had done, 
and he, with a kindness for which they hardly dared 
to hope, shipped them at once for the voyage. On 
arriving at Havana, they were paid off and dis- 
charged, and Mr. Rea then took passage for Boston 



ciplinarian, but kind to the crew, not permitting the petty officers 
to impose upon them. He never used profane language, and often 
on the Sabbath officiated as chaplain. 



82 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

on board a brig commanded by Capt. Henry Higgin- 
son. When on soundings, off New York, the brig 
was taken by a British cruiser and carried into that 
port. He was immediately put on board the Jersey 
prison-ship, where he was confined from January to 
May, 1782, when he was exchanged and returned to 
his friends. 

Sept. 14, 1774, Major John Leach deceased, in the 
74th year of his age. He was among the active 
whigs of the early part of the revolution, and was a 
member of the committee of correspondence in this 
town at the time of his death. 

In the preceding February of this year, a donation 
was made by the town for the relief of the poor in 
Boston, consisting of two barrels of sugar, one bar- 
rel of rum, five and a half quintals of fish, one hun- 
dred and five pounds of coffee, two cheeses, eight 
pairs of women's and five pairs of men's leather 
shoes, one hide of upper-leather, three curried calf- 
skins, sixteen pounds of chocolate, ten pounds of 
pork, twenty-five pounds of flax, one barrel of flour, 
one and a half bushel of corn, and £31 9^. lOd. in 
money. Some of the poor of Boston were also quar- 
tered upon the town. 

In 1775, a scarcity of bread appears to have been 
apprehended, as the supplies by water were mostly 
cut off; and, at a town meeting held on the 19th June, 
two days subsequent to the battle of Bunker Hill, 
the selectmen were ordered to purchase 1500 bushels 
of grain and ten casks of rice, to be disposed of by 
them in the best manner, for the use and benefit 
of the town. A similar precaution in relation to 
ammunition was adopted, and a fine of ten shillings 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 83 

was imposed on any one who should " unnecessarily- 
waste or fire off any charge of powder." 

At a meeting held in April, 1776, the town de- 
clined sending delegates to a convention held at Ips- 
wich, "relative to an equal representation by every 
man's having a like voice in the election of the leg- 
islative body of this colony;" but, at a subsequent 
meeting, a committee was appointed to sign, in be- 
half of the town, the memorial agreed upon by that 
convention. 

The year 1777 was distinguished by a riotous 
proceeding, in which the gentler sex were the prin- 
cipal actors. The merchants of this town, in con- 
sequence of the little confidence they had in a con- 
stantly depreciating paper currency, refused to sell 
the West India commodities in their possession, at 
the stated prices. This determination gave great 
offence, and under the excitement of the occasion, a 
number of women resolved to redress the grievance, 
forcibly or otherwise. One cold November morning, 
a company of about sixty, wearing lambskin cloaks 
with riding hoods, marshalled by three or four lead- 
ers, one of them bearing a musket, marched in regu- 
lar order down Main and Bartlett streets to the 
wharves, attended by two ox~carts. They proceed- 
ed to the distil-house, where a quantity of sugar, 
belonging to the estate of Stephen Cabot, deceased, 
was stored. In the meantime, the foreman of the 
distillery, to whose custody the goods had been com- 
mitted, locked the gates at the entrance of the pas- 
sage leading to the store, and stood sentry within, to 
prevent the ingress of the assailants. Finding them- 
selves opposed, they called to their aid a reinforce- 
ment of men, who, with axes, soon demolished the 



84 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

gates. The gallant foreman still maintained his 
post, and made a bold demonstration of resistance. 
His fair assailants, nothing daunted, pressed vigor- 
ously to the onset, and seizing him by the hair, 
which was not of nature's groAvth, were proceeding 
to execute summary vengeance, when he eluded 
their grasp by leaving his artificial covering in their 
hands — and fleeing all but scalpless to the counting- 
room, locked himself in for safe-keeping. The work 
of victory then commenced. With the co-operation 
of their volunteer reinforcement, these gentle ex- 
pounders of " women's rights" forced the doors of 
the store, and rolled out two hogsheads of sugar, 
which were placed on the carts in attendance. The 
affair had now assumed a serious aspect, and several 
other merchants having a quantity of sugar on hand, 
and unwilling to risk the consequences of resistance 
and possible defeat, entered into a negotiation, which 
resulted in an agreement, on their part, to sell each 
a barrel of sugar to the female dictators, at the stip- 
ulated price, and receive paper money in payment. 
With this treaty the war closed, and the valiant band 
dispersed. The sugar was carted to the house of 
the principal leader, who kept a shop, and was there 
dealt out in convenient parcels, according to treaty 
engagement. Acting as agent in the business, she 
received and paid over the money to the owners of 
the sugar, with whom an amicable settlement was 
subsequently made for the quantity forcibly taken. 

It is but just, in closing this brief account of a pro- 
ceeding in which the ludicrous and the serious are 
blended, to remark, that few seaport towns having 
so much foreign trade as this had in times past, and 
so much privateering and other maritime business. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 85 

have been so distinguished for their uniform, orderly 
submission to the laws of the land. The single de- 
parture from this course here related, probably had 
the effect of inducing greater caution among the well- 
disposed, and occasioned their prompt interference to 
check the first motions towards any disorderly pro- 
ceedings. 

The year 1788 is an epoch in the history of Bev- 
erly, marked by the establishment of the first cotton 
mill in America ; that of Slater's, at Pawtucket, 
having been commenced in 1790. A building of 
brick was erected in the second parish, near "Ba- 
ker's corner," at the junction of the Birch-plain and 
Ipswich roads, and a company of proprietors incor- 
porated Feb. 3, 1789, without any exemption or priv- 
ilege, except that of acting as a body corporate. 
Great expectations were entertained from the intro- 
duction of manufactures into the country on an ex- 
tensive plan, at this early period. A periodical of 
the day, describing this factory, says, "that an ex- 
periment was made with a complete set of machines 
for carding and spinning cotton, which answered the 
warmest expectations of the proprietors. The spin- 
ning-jenny spins sixty threads at a time, and with 
the carding machine, forty pounds of cotton can be 
well carded per day. The warping machine and 
the other tools and machinery are complete, perform- 
ing their various operations to great advantage, and 
promise much benefit to the public, and emolument 
to the patriotic adventurers." This establishment 
was visited by Gen. Washington, on his tour through 
the country in 1789. Not realizing the anticipations 
of the proprietors, they abandoned it as a body cor- 
porate, and the business was carried on by individu- 
8 



86 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

als, who subsequently erected a mill at the head of 
Bass river, for the purpose of spinning cotton by 
water-power. This enterprize proving unprofitable, 
the machinery and buildings of the cotton mill were 
finally removed, and the brick factory was destroyed 
by fire in 1828. In 1841 a steam factory was incor- 
porated, and a large amount of stock subscribed, but 
operations were temporarily suspended for more fa- 
vorable times. 

The first election for governor, and other state offi- 
cers, subsequent to the ratification of the constitu- 
tion of the United States, was held in Beverly this 
year, April 8th, at which John Hancock received 
155 votes for governor, and Elbridge Gerry 17. For 
lieut. governor, Benj. Lincoln received 158 votes, 
and James Warren 17. 

The winter of 1780 is known as the hard winter. 
The snow fell seven successive days in December, to 
the depth of four feet on a level. The cold was in- 
tense, and for thirty days the sun made not the 
slightest impression on the snow, even in southern 
aspects. Many persons perished ; and in this town, 
from scarcity of fuel, a considerable number of fruit 
trees were cut down. 

May 19, 1780, is distinguished as the dark day. 
The sun rose clear, but soon assumed a brassy hue. 
About 10 o'clock, A. M., it became unusually dark. 
The darkness continued to increase till about 1 
o'clock, when it began to decrease. During this time 
candles were necessary. The birds disappeared and 
were silent, the fowls went to their roost, the cocks 
crew as at day-break, and every thing bore the 
appearance and gloom of night. The alarm produc- 
ed by this unusual aspect of the heavens was great, 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 87 

and tradition has preserved many anecdotes of terror. • 
An old gentleman of rather singular turn, supposing 
the judgment-day at hand, dressed himself with unus- 
ual care, and taking his silver-headed cane walked 
out into the field to await the event. As the dark- 
ness came on, Mr Willard, who possessed some rare 
instruments, took a station on the common to make 
observations, and was soon surrounded by a large 
number of his parishioners, who gazed on his opera- 
tions with awe and wonder. Mr. W. paid no attention 
to the conjectures and expressions of alarm uttered in 
his hearing, and calmly pursued his investigations. 
In the midst of these, a person of excitable tempera- 
ment came running from the seashore, exclaiming in 
accents of terror, " the tide has done flowing !" '' So 
it has !" replied Mr. Willard, who, with admirable 
presence of mind took out his watch — " so it has, for 
it is just high water." • 

The night succeeding the day was of such pitchy 
darkness, that in some instances horses could not be 
compelled to leave the stable when wanted for ser- 
vice. About midnight the clouds were dispersed, 
and the moon and stars appeared with unimpaired 
brilliancy. ' This phenomenon is supposed to have 
been occasioned by the smoke arising from extensive 
fires in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, and 
which, owing to the clearness of the air and light- 
ness of the winds, had accumulated over this region 
in immense quantities. This year was also remark- 
able for the brilUant appearance of the aurora borealis, 
which, from the description, must have been more 
magnificent than the display witnessed on the evening 
of Dec. 11, 1830. 

On the 4th of September, the first town meeting 



bo HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

was held for the election of governor, lieut. gov- 
ernor and conncillors, pnrsuant to the provisions of 
the new constitution, when the following votes were 
given. For governor, James Bowdoin, 29 ; John 
Hancock, 16. For lient. governor. John Hancock, 
29; Benjamin Greenleaf. 14; James Bowdoin, 2. 
The first representatives under the constitution, were 
Larkin Thorndike and Jonathan Conant. 

This year. Col. Henry Herrick deceased. He was 
an active agent in all the first revolutionary move- 
ments, and for many years represented the town in 
General Court. He frequently presided at the numer- 
ous town meetings held to consider the public con- 
cerns, at a time when it required a good degree of 
moral courage for any one to appear conspicuously 
in acts and measures of doubtful result, and in event 
of failure, placing him in the position of a rebel 
against the King and the government of Great Brit- 
ain. His house stood on the site of the present 
residence of Ebenezer Meacom. His family consist- 
ed of eight children, viz : Joseph, Pyam, Henry, 
Joanna, Ehzabeth, Nancy, Mary and Ruth. 



The peace of 1783 was hailed in this town with 
demonstrations of the liveliest joy. This year the 
town refused its assent to the proposition for holding 
and keeping at Ipswich, ail the courts of law and 
offices of register of deeds, register of probate, and 
clerk of the courts of common pleas and general 
sessions of the peace, and instructed its representa- 
tive, Mr. Dane, to govern himself accordingly. In 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 89 

1784, £1200 were voted to be raised for the service 
of the town and the payment of debts. In 1785, Mr. 
Dane was elected a delegate to Congress, and was 
succeeded as representative by Larkin Thorndike. 
In 1786, the pecuniary difficulties and embarrass- 
ments of the town, in common with every part of 
New England, were very considerable, arising in 
part from debts contracted during the war, the gen- 
eral stagnation of commerce, and the burdens of 
taxation consequent upon the revolution. This year 
the '' Shays' rebellion" occurred — to suppress which, 
a regiment of militia was marched from Essex coun- 
ty under the command of Col. Wade, of Ipswich, an 
officer in whom Washington, during the revolution, 
reposed the utmost confidence. In 1787, the votes 
for governor were 125, of which John Hancock re- 
ceived 77, and James Bowdoin 48. The same year 
George Cabot, Joseph Wood and Israel Thorndike, 
were chosen delegates to represent the town in the 
State convention to be held in Boston, Jan. 1788, for 
the purpose of taking into consideration the constitu- 
tion or frame of government for the United States, 
proposed by the federal convention. 

Between 1786 and 1789, town offices went beg- 
ging. So many persons chosen declining to serve, 
resort was had to a fine as a compulsory measure to 
complete the proper organization. The greatest dif- 
ficulty was experienced in obtaining persons to serve 
in the office of constable, as they were obliged to 
collect the taxes in their respective wards, a duty 
which appears to have been peculiarly onerous at 
that time. To secure the services of these officers, 
a fine of £5 was imposed on those who refused to 
accept the office when chosen, or procure a substi- 
8^ 



90 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

tute : and even this measure was not always suc- 
cessful, as it appears that, in 1786, seven town 
meetings were held between March and October, 
before persons would serve rather than pay £5 fine. 

In 1790, Larkin Thorndike and Joseph Wood were 
chosen representatives, and instructed to attend the 
General Court together only on occasions of extraor- 
dinary business, and at other times separately. In 
1791, the town treasurer was directed to fund the 
paper money on hand, or sell it, as he might think 
best. In 1792, it was voted that all contracts should 
be made and paid in hard money instead of town 
orders. 

Feb. 22, 1793, Washington's birth-day was cele- 
brated with a display of colors and a ball and supper 
in the evening. Among the toasts were the fol- 
lowing : 

•'Agriculture — May we always revere the most 
ancient and most useful of arts. 

" Manufactures — May a conviction of their utility 
in an improved state, make us cherish them in their 
infancy. 

'' Commerce — May it universally be conducted on 
the liberal principles of reciprocal advantage." 

The proclamation of neutrality, issued by the 
President of the United States in 1793, and induced 
by the war then existing in Europe, was regarded by 
every friend of peace as " a wise and prudent meas- 
ure, well-timed, founded on fact, and calculated to 
secure the honor and promote the true interests and 
happiness of the country." The design of that proc- 
lamation was warmly seconded in this town. At a 
meeting of the merchants and others, held the 25th 
of July, of which Moses Brown was chairman, reso- 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 91 

liitions were unanimously adopted, recognizing its 
necessity and propriety, as not only announcing to 
the powers of Europe the equitable disposition of the 
United States, and tending to produce a reciprocity 
of friendly sentiments, but also as admonishing all 
American citizens of the penalties to which a viola- 
tion of the laws of nations subjected them. In order 
to preserve " the strictest neutrality between the 
powers at war," the meeting further resolved, that 
"should any inhabitant of these States, regardless of 
all moral and political obligations, fit out or be inter- 
ested in any privateer or vessel armed to cruise against 
any nation at peace with the United States, we will 
endeavor to detect him, that he may suffer the pim- 
ishment inflicted by the law for such piratical con- 
duct.'' 

The subject of revising the State constitution was 
laid before the town in 1795, and decided in the 
affirmative by a vote of twenty-six to ten. In 1796, 
a petition drawn up by Rev. Mr. M'Kean, William 
Burley, Israel Thorndike, Moses Brown and John 
Stephens, was adopted by the town with entire unan- 
imity, and presented to Congress, praying for the 
immediate fulfilment of the treaty made between the 
United States and Great Britain. 

Soon after the close of the revolutionary struggle, 
public attention was directed to the vast wilderness 
of the west as " much to be desired for a possession." 
Statesmen saw in that immense territory the future 
seat of civilization and political power. Political 
economists perceived, in a mild cHmate, a fertile soil, 
numerous navigable streams and geographical rela- 
tions, superior advantages for agricultural, manufac- 
turing and commercial pursuits, as well as for the 



92 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

support of a dense population ; and capitalists dream- 
ed of fortunes to be made by investments there. 
The "Ohio fever," as it was aptly denominated, 
prevailed throughout New England, and numerous 
families left ''their pleasant homes, to follow the 
guiding hand of Providence to the western realms of 
promise." Forty-four years ago, " a long ark-like 
looking wagon was seen traversing the roads and 
winding through the villages of Essex and Middlesex, 
covered with black canvass, inscribed on the outside 
in large letters, ' to Marietta on the Ohio.' That 
expedition, under Dr. Cutler, of this neighborhood, 
was the first germ of the settlement of Ohio, which 
now contains a million and a half of inhabitants. 
Forty-four years have scarce passed by, since this 
great State, with all its settlements, improvements, 
canals and growing population, was covered up (if I 
may so say,) under the canvass of Dr. Cutler's 
wagon. Not half a century, and a State is in exist- 
ence, (twice as large as our old Massachusetts) to 
whom not old England, but New England is the land 
of ancestral recollections. "=^ In the afore-named com- 
pany of emigrants, was the family of Peter Shaw 
and several other persons of this town, 

1798. The town this year for the first time chose 
a health officer, and in 1801 a hospital was erected 
on Paul's head at an expense of about $450. This 
point was originally the property of Paul Thorndike, 
one of the first selectmen of the town after its incor- 
poration, and from him derived its name. A watch- 
house was built here as early as 1711. 

January 18, 1799. The schooner Alert, of Beverly, 

* Everett. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 93 

Capt. Jacob Oliver, was taken by three French pri- 
vateers as she was entering the harbor of Santander, 
and sent into Bayonne. She was not captured with- 
out a noble struggle. With only two guns, she beat 
ofi' a lugger that led on the attack, and continued the 
combat with a second, until that was reinforced by a 
ten-gun schooner, when she was compelled to strike. 
This outrage upon American neutrality excited strong 
murmurs among the inhabitants of Santander, and 
the commander of the fort notified the captains of 
the French privateers in the harbor, that if they 
attempted to put to sea after an American vessel came 
in sight, he would sink them. 

From 1773 to 1800, numerous town meetings were 
held for the adoption of measures to prevent the in- 
troduction and spread of the small-pox. A commit- 
tee of inspection was chosen ; a house provided to 
which suspected persons and their goods were to be 
conveyed for examination and cleansing; smoke- 
houses were erected, and fences were thrown across 
the roads, to prevent the passing of persons with- 
out inspection. Inoculation with small-pox virus, 
though several times commenced, never met with 
cordial approbation — owing, perhaps, to the same 
prejudice that resisted its introduction into Boston, 
in 1720. In 1788, it appearing that the practice of 
inoculation continued, a committee was appointed 
to inform the masters of all houses infected with the 
disease, that they were forbidden, under the highest 
displeasure of the town, and the penalties of the 
law, to permit any person to come into their house, for 
the purpose of inoculation, or of passing through the 
distemper. To carry the intention of the town more 
completely into effect, all suspected persons were re- 



94 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

quired to undergo fumigation, and inoculation by 
physicians and all other persons was prohibited 
after the first day of July. In 1800, the town was 
thrown into alarm by the introduction of virus from 
London, supposed to be vaccine, but which unfortu- 
nately proved to be the matter of small-pox, or a 
disease nearly approximating to it, probably the 
varioloid. A town meeting was the consequence, 
exhibiting strong symptoms of tumult, but which 
happily terminated without violence. At this meet- 
ing, inoculation either for small or kine-pox, was 
again prohibited except at hospitals, and various 
other precautionary measures were adopted. Since 
1800, the general introduction of kine-pox by vacci- 
nation, has prevented the spread of small-pox here 
as elsewhere. 

In 1803, the town concurred in the petition of John 
Heard and others, for a turnpike from Beverly to 
Newburyport. This road was intended to be com- 
menced at Nathaniel Batchelder's blacksmith's shop ; 
and running in a direct line across Dodge's Row 
near the school-house, to intersect the main road in 
Hamilton, near Dr. Faulkner's corner. This project 
was prosecuted no further than to procure an act of 
incorporation. The same year, $1500 were voted for 
the repair of the highways. 

March 27, 1807, Capt. George Raymond died, 
aged 99 years and about 3 months. He was the 
son of Nathaniel and Rebecca Raymond, and was 
born Dec. 21, 1707. He was in the Cape Breton 
expedition, and is mentioned in the town records of 
1770, as moderator of a meeting at which measures 
were adopted to suppress the use of tea. He re- 
sided, at the time of his decease, in the second parish. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 95 

July 4th. The thirty-first anniversary of Ameri- 
can Independence, was celebrated with particular 
demonstrations of joy. The Light Infantry, and 
other military companies paraded, and salutes were 
fired from a cannon used to announce the memora- 
ble declaration of 1776, at sunrise, noon and sunset. 
At half past 9 o'clock, the Light Infantry company 
paraded in front of Hon. Israel Thorndike's man- 
sion, and received the present of a standard ; after 
which, with a numerous company of ladies, the 
clergy, gentlemen of this and the neighboring towns, 
and the officers of the third regiment, they partook 
of refreshments liberally provided by that gentle- 
man. At eleven o'clock a procession was formed 
and moved to the South meeting-house, escorted by 
the Light Infantry, a part of Capt. Brown's com- 
pany, and the Salem Juvenile Artillery, the whole 
under the command of Capt. Rantoul. Prayers 
were offered by Rev. Messrs. Emerson and Randall, 
and an appropriate discourse delivered by Rev. Mr. 
Abbot, from Exodus 12 : 14. After the religious 
services, the procession was again formed and es- 
corted to a tent on Watch House Hill, under which 
about two hundred persons of diflferent politics par- 
took of an elegant dinner, at which Col. Lovett pre- 
sided. Among the toasts given were the following : 

''The Militia : Every citizen a soldier, and every 
soldier a patriot. 

" Our Fisheries : While we draw wealth from those 
exhaustless mines, with gratitude may we remember 
the patriots who procured us the blessing. 

" Agriculture, Commerce, and the Arts : Together 
they flourish ; separated they die. 



96 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

'' Schools, Academies, and Colleges : May they be 
nurseries of science and virtue. 

^'The Ladies of Beverly, who this day presented 
the standard to the Light Infantry : May their gen- 
erous patriotism be long held in grateful remem- 
brance." 

Dec. 22d, the long embargo was enacted which 
was subsequently repealed by the non-intercourse 
act of March 1, 1809. The political excitement of 
this period, is shown by the number of votes given 
at successive elections. The whole number cast in 
April, 1807, was 588; in April, 1808, 654: in Nov. 
1808, 671 ; in April, 1809, 650. At these times the 
fishermen and seamen were generally at home, and 
particular pains were taken to induce every voter to 
use his franchise. 

Jan. 21, 1808, Joseph Wood departed this life, 
aged 68 years. During a period of more than forty 
years, he was constantly connected with town 
affairs. He represented the town in General Court 
for a great number of years, and from 1771, to the day 
of his death, nearly thirty-eight years, filled the oflice 
of town clerk. He had also been a selectman, and 
for some years before his decease was an acting jus- 
tice of peace and notary public. During the whole 
of the revolutionary war, he was one of the com- 
mittee of correspondence, inspection and safety, thus 
occupying a place of great labor and responsibility, 
which was bestowed only on such as were well 
known to be zealously devoted to the cause of their 
country. In 1788, he was a member of the conven- 
tion for ratifying the constitution of the United 
States, and the fidelity with which he discharged 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 97 

every public duty, uniformly secured to him the 
unbounded confidence of his fellow-townsmen. 

This year, the town petitioned the Congress of the 
United States, to suspend the operation of the em- 
bargo laws. The petition is recorded at length, and 
will, in future time, be an interesting document to 
those who are desirous to become acquainted with 
all the transactions of that period. The following 
year, at one of the most numerous meetings ever 
held in this town, spirited resolutions were unani- 
mously passed, disapproving of the embargo laws, 
and a petition embracing the substance of these reso- 
lutions, was voted to be presented to the General 
Court, praying for relief 

December 10, 1809, Josiah B^tchelder, jr., Esq., 
deceased, aged 73. He was the son of Josiah Batch- 
elder, who served in the expedition against Port 
Royal in 1707, under the command of Capt. Benj. 
James, of Marblehead, and died at the advanced age 
of 88. Mr. Batchelder early commenced a nautical 
life, and by energy of character, soon rose to the 
command of a vessel. In 1761, on his passage from 
Georgia to St. Christopher, with a cargo of lumber, 
he was taken by a French privateer, and, after being 
detained twenty-four hours, succeeded in obtaining 
the release of his vessel for two thousand three hun- 
dred pieces of eight. For the payment of this sum 
he was retained a hostage on board the privateer ; 
while his vessel, under the charge of his first ofiicer, 
was despatched to St. Eustatia or St. Christopher 
for the money. In the meantime he was carried into 
Martinico and thrust into a filthy prison, from which 
he obtained release, and proceeded to St. Christopher, 
9 



98 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

where he entered a protest against the whole pro- 
ceedings. 

Mr. Batchelder was early a warm, devoted and 
energetic friend to the cause of freedom, to promote 
which he made large pecuniary sacrifices. His fel- 
low-citizens honored him with their confidence by 
electing him six times to represent their interests in 
the General Court. He was also elected a member 
of the Provincial Congress in 1775, and again in '76, 
^77 and '79, and in both assemblies was placed on 
the most important committees. His extensive busi- 
ness and public station made for him a large ac- 
quaintance at home and abroad, and his numerous 
guests were entertained with a generous hospitality. 
For many years Mr. B. discharged, with great ac- 
ceptance, the duties of a justice of the peace ; and 
when, by act of Congress, Salem and Beverly were 
formed into one district, he received the appoint- 
ment of surveyor and inspector, which office he held 
until his decease. He was thirty-five years a mem- 
ber of the first church, and departed this life, leaning, 
with unshaken confidence, on the Christian's hope. 

In 1810, the town, by vote, protested against the 
removal of the term of the Supreme Judicial Court 
from Ipswich to Newburyport. In 1812, soon after 
the declaration of war against Great Britain, spirited 
resolutions were passed in town meeting, disapprov- 
ing the proceedings of the government of the United 
States, and approving the course of the General 
Court and of the Governor in relation to the war. 
Delegates were also chosen to attend a county con- 
vention at Ipswich. In 1814, a memorial was adopt- 
ed by the town and ordered to be presented to the 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 99 

General Court, in reference to the sufferings of the 
inhabitants from embargo and war. In 1814, an 
attack being apprehended from the enemy, several 
families removed to the interior. 

On the 9th of June, a barge, from a British ship of 
war, pursued a schooner belonging to Manchester, 
towards this harbor. Unable to escape, she was run 
ashore on Mingo's beach and abandoned. The Brit- 
ish set her on fire, but the flames were afterwards 
extinguished by the neighboring inhabitants without 
much damage. The alarm occasioned by this affair 
was followed by a public meeting, at which meas- 
ures were adopted for the effectual protection of the 
town. Subsequently, a company of infantry from 
Haverhill and Methuen, and of artillery from Dan- 
vers, were stationed here for the defence of the coast; 
but the following winter, cause for further warlike 
preparations was removed by the treaty of peace, ex- 
ecuted at Ghent, Dec. 24, 1814, and ratified by the 
American senate Feb. 16th, 1815. 

March 6th, 1819, Mr. Robert Endicott, an exem- 
plary and respected citizen, deceased, aged 62 years. 
Mr. Endicott was a descendant from Governor En- 
dicott, of the fifth generation. He removed from 
Danvers to Beverly in the latter part of 1781, being 
the first of the name that settled here. He married 
Mary, daughter of Rev. Nathan Holt, of Danvers. 
Of seven children, two only survive, who, with their 
families, reside in this town. 

In 1820, the question of amending the constitution 
was submitted to the people, who gave a majority in 
the affirmative. Four delegates were elected by this 
town to attend the convention called for that purpose, 
and which consisted of about five hundred members. 



100 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

December 22, 1822, William Burley died, in the 
72d year of his age. He was a native of Ipswich, 
and was born January 2d, 1751. He took an active 
and zealous part in the war of the revolution, and 
was some years an officer in the American army. 

On the 3d of February, 1780, when under the 
command of Col. Thompson, on the lines near White 
Plains, Mr. Burley, who was then a lieutenant, was 
taken prisoner in a severe skirmish with a detachment 
of British troops. Col. Thompson, who commanded, 
was also taken, with several other officers and about 
ninety men. This misfortune was owing to the neg- 
ligence and imprudence of the Colonel, who omitted 
the precautions he had been directed to take to guard 
against any sudden attack.^ 

Mr. Burley was compelled to remain a prisoner a 
year and nine months, on his parole, on Long Island, 
when he obtained his liberty by an exchange. This 
long captivity, at such a crisis, was a very severe 
trial to one of his active character and ardent pa- 
triotism. The last year of his imprisonment he was 
allowed the pay and rations of a captain in the con- 
tinental service. 

He left a legacy to this town of five hundred dol- 
lars, to be expended for the instruction of poor chil- 
dren in reading and the principles of the Christian 
religion. This legacy was managed by a committee 
appointed for the purpose, who bestowed the benefit 
on such children in different parts of the town as, in 
their judgment, most required it. A legacy of a sim- 
ilar character was also left to his native town. 

August 31st, 1824, General La Fayette, then mak- 

* Heath's Memoirs, p. 230. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 101 

ing a tour of the country he had so signally served 
by the side of Washington, passed through this town. 
He was received, as he was every where, with every 
demonstration of respect. His arrival was announced 
by a salute of thirteen guns, from Ellingwood's 
point. An arch was erected on Essex bridge, at the 
line of the town, beautifully decorated with flowers, 
evergreens and flags, bearing the inscription, " Wel- 
come, La Fayette, the man whom we delight to hon- 
or." On arriving opposite the bank, where was dis- 
played across the street a line of national banners, 
he was cheered by a concourse of citizens. His car- 
riage and escort halted for a short time, amidst a 
furious rain, when he was addressed by Hon. Robert 
Rantoul in behalf of the citizens, as follows : 

•'General: The inhabitants of Beverly bid you 
welcome. We welcome you to our country, — that 
country which owes so much to your aid in the ac- 
quisition of her independence. We receive you not 
merely as the friend of our beloved country, but as 
the friend of Man. Your labors, your sacrifices, your 
suflerings in the cause of liberty, demand our grati- 
tude. Tyrants receive the commanded adulation of 
their slaves, but to the benefactors of our race belong 
the spontaneous eff'usions of our hearts. Accept our 
sincere congratulations that you live to witness the 
order, the prosperity, the happiness that results from 
our free institutions ; and may the evening of your 
days be solaced with the reflection that those princi- 
ples of government, to the support of which your life 
has been devoted, and which alone can secure the 
enjoyment of rational liberty, are fast spreading their 
influence through the whole family of man. Wish- 
ing you long life and uninterrupted happiness, we 
bid you farewell." 
9* 



102 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

After an affectionate reply to this address, the Gen- 
eral resumed his journey. 

In 1827, Capt. John Low died, in the 82d year of 
his age. He was born in Hamilton, in 1745. He 
became a resident of Beverly before the revolution- 
ary war, at the commencement of which he forsook 
his business of cabinet-making, and raised a com- 
pany for the continental army. After leaving the 
army he kept a public-house near the ferry-way, and 
subsequently removed to Lyman, Me., where, until 
the day of his decease, he enjoyed the confidence of 
his fellow-townsmen. 

In consequence of the alarming prevalence of the 
Asiatic cholera in various parts of the country, in 
1832, a town meeting was held August 4th, at which 
a committee of nine persons, including the selectmen, 
was appointed as a health committee, who were au- 
thorized to take such measures to prevent its intro- 
duction and spread as should be thought necessary. 
This committee, in discharge of their duty, caused 
directions to be printed and circulated, in which they 
recommended attention to personal cleanliness, mod- 
eration in the use of food, total abstinence from the 
use of distilled spiritous liquors, and the exercise of 
a moral courage that results from a rational confi- 
dence in God. 

July 4th, 1835. The anniversary of American in- 
dependence was celebrated in this town on the 3d 
July, the 4th being the Sabbath, without distinction 
of party. The oration was by Edward Everett, the 
present minister from this country to Great Britain, 
who chose for his subject the early part of the life of 
George Washington, terminating with the French 
war, about 1756. This effort of the distinguished 
orator was one of his happiest. For an hour and a 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 103 

half, he spoke without recurrence to notes, and riv- 
eted the attention of a crowded and overflowing au- 
dience in the Dane street meeting-house. At the 
close of the exercises, a numerous company, with 
invited guests, including twelve revolutionary vet- 
erans, repaired to a pavilion erected on the common, 
where they partook of an excellent dinner. The pa- 
vilion was tastefully decorated with flowers and 
evergreens by the ladies, who were complimented at 
the table in the following toast: 

" The Ladies of Beverly, who have labored for our present ac- 
commodation ; and with their permission we would mention the 
Lady Superior, whose great industry and good taste have done so 
much for the beauty and ornament of the scenery about us. May 
she never consign herself to a cloister less joyous and happy than 
that which witnesses the festivities of this day." 

Hon. Robert Rantoul presided at the table, assist- 
ed by several vice-presidents ; and although total 
abstinence from intoxicating liquors did not then 
generally prevail, yet the example of the president, 
and some other teetotalers, was not lost upon the 
company ; and on the whole, the entertainment may 
be pronounced one of the most orderly, tasteful and 
intellectual, of its kind, ever enjoyed by the citizens 
of Beverly. Among the toasts offered on the occa- 
sion was the following, in compliment to the orator : 

" The orator of the day : The union of genius, talents and in- 
dustry, regulated by virtuous principle, will always command 
respect and esteem from a free and enlightened community. The 
power of eloquence, when employed to promote harmony, union 
and peace among friends and neighbors, excites the most grateful 
feelings, and merits the warmest praise." 

This sentiment was responded to by Mr. Everett, 
in a neat and appropriate speech, which was received 
with great applause. Addresses were also made by 



104 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

Hon. Leverett Saltonstall of Salem, and Mr. Blunt 
of New York. Letters, accompanied with toasts, 
were read from a number of distinguished gentle- 
men, who were unable to accept the invitations ex- 
tended to them. 

The committee of arrangements consisted of four- 
teen citizens, of whom Josiah Lovett, 2d, was chair- 
man. The escort duty was performed by the Bev- 
erly Light Infantry. The bells were rung, and sa- 
lutes fired in the morning and at evening ; and after 
sunset a display of fireworks was made on Watch- 
house hill. The celebration was conceived and car- 
ried out in an excellent spirit, and the occasion pass- 
ed off with fewer causes for regret than usually 
attend festivities of this description. 

August 20th, a town meeting was held, at which 
a series of resolutions were adopted, and a committee 
appointed to endeavor to obtain a change of the loca- 
tion of the Eastern Rail-road, from the east to the 
west side of Essex bridge. The objections to the 
former location, as urged in the resolutions, were, 
substantially, that the construction of a bridge there 
would materially injure the anchorage accommoda- 
tions of the harbor, incommode citizens engaged in 
the cod fishery, expose the town to fire from engines, 
endanger the lives of numerous children who must 
cross the road in going to and from school, and per- 
manently injure the business, prosperity and growth 
of the place ; all of which evils the location of the 
road west of the bridge would obviate. At an ad- 
journed meeting, Sept. 17th, the report of the com- 
mittee was accepted, their number enlarged, and in- 
structions given them to continue their efforts to 
obtain a compliance with the resolutions passed at 
the first meeting. This object was attained in 1837. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 105 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS, AND ESSEX BRIDGE. 

Besides the houses for pubUc worship, the princi- 
pal public edifices in Beverly are the town-hall, 
bank, and almshouse. A large three-story brick 
building was erected in 1839 on Cabot street, at the 
head of Bartlett street, by Mr. John Bell, and fitted 
up for stores, ofiices, reading-room, etc. It also con- 
tains a hall for lectures and other public assemblies, 
and is known as '' Bell's hall." A cupola surmounts 
the building, affording a convenient " look-out," 
from which vessels may be seen far away at sea. 

The old town-hall occupies an elevated site, a short 
distance easterly from the main street. It was erected 
in 1798, by Mr Obediah Groce, of Salem, at a cost 
of about $2000. It is two stories high, and has a 
cupola, furnished with a bell. It was originally 
built to accommodate the grammar-school ; but when 
completed, a vote was passed to occupy the second 
story for town purposes, previous to which time town 
meetings had been held in the first parish meeting- 
house. It has been variously altered, from time to 
time, and in 1842 was sold to the grammar district, 
who gave it the name of Briscoe Hall. 

The new town-hall stands on the east side of 
Cabot street, a little south of the first parish meet- 
ing-house. It is of brick, three stories high, of 
remarkably correct symmetry, and is highly orna- 
mental to the town. It was originally built for 
a private residence, by Andrew Cabot, about fifty- 
five years ago, in the most substantial manner, the 
walls being very thick. It subsequently became the 
property of the late Israel Thorndike, who orna- 
mented its ample grounds with numerous fruit and 



106 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

forest trees, shrubs and plants. In 1841, it was pur- 
chased of the heirs of Mr. T., and altered as it now 
appears. On the first floor are rooms for the school 
committee, selectmen, assessors and town clerk. The 
second and third stories are thrown into one, making 
a large and commodious hall, with galleries on three 
sides, furnished with fixed seats, while for the main 
floor moveable settees are provided. The hall is light- 
ed with astral lamps, and the rostrum is furnished 
with a sofa and chairs. The whole interior arrange- 
ment is neat and convenient, and reflects great credit 
on the gentlemen under whose superintendence the 
work was executed, as well as on the mechanics by 
whom the labor was performed. The committee to 
whom was committed the care of this enterprize, 
consisted of George Brown, chairman, John Saffbrd, 
Augustus N. Clark, James Haskell, and Francis 
Woodberry. 

The hall was opened for public purposes October 
26, 1841, with appropriate religious exercises, and 
an address from Hon. Robert Rantoul. The build- 
ing, with the public square adjoining it, is protected 
on its west and south sides by a neat fence of chain, 
inserted in granite posts ; and is shaded by a number 
of beautiful horse-chestnut and elm trees. Alto- 
gether, it is one of the finest and most convenient 
buildings for town purposes in the county. 

The banking house is also on Cabot street, at the 
corner of Central street. It is of brick, three stories 
high, and was built by John Cabot, a brother of An- 
drew, near the time of the erection of the new town- 
hall. 

Attention was directed to the wants of the poor, 
very soon after the town was incorporated ; and one 
of the conditions of a contract, made for the support 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 107 

of a pauper in 1723, was, that he should be kept as 
a christian ought to be kept. As early as 1719-20, 
a vote was passed by the town to build an alms- 
house. It was afterwards re-considered, and that 
purpose was not finally accomphshed until 1803, 
when the house now owned by the town was erect- 
ed. It is pleasantly situated on a court, running 
northerly from Cabot street. The house is two sto- 
ries high, and contains twelve rooms, besides two in 
the basement ; one of which is used as a kitchen, 
and the other as a work-room. The basement story 
also contains the necessary cells for the confinement 
of disorderly persons. The house was very tho- 
roughly repaired in 1838, at an expense of $2,500, 
and under its present efficient management, affords 
a humane asylum for the friendless poor. Land 
owned, and rented by the town for that purpose, is 
cultivated by the inmates of this house, who raise 
potatoes and other vegetables sufficient for their own 
consumption, and cut hay enough to keep two cows. 
Among the greatest conveniences obtained for this 
town by corporate enterprize, is Essex Bridge. On 
the 26th Dec. 1636, a ferry was estabhshed between 
Salem Neck, or North Point, and Cape- Ann-side, as 
Beverly was then styled. It was kept by John 
Stone, who was to receive as passage-money, "2c/. 
for each stranger, and \d. for an inhabitant of Sa- 
lem." The next year (1637) the inhabitants of Bass- 
River-side, petitioned the court to exempt them from 
the ferriage fee, on the ground that they did not re- 
ceive any part of the toll profits; but the prayer was 
not granted. In 1639, the ferry was granted to Wil- 
liam Dixy for three years. He was " to keep a horse- 
boat; to have for a stranger's passage, 2c?; for towns- 



108 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

men, Id ; for mares, horses, and other great beasts, 
6d. ; for goats, calves, and swine, 2d. 

Jan. 5, 1698-9, the ferry-landing on the Beverly- 
side was laid out by order of the Court of General 
Sessions of the Peace, on a return by a jury. This 
landing includes nearly all the fiats between Safford 
& Stone's wharves, and, although not the property 
of the town, has been until recently a public land- 
ing. In 1749, the ferry was let for £3 sterling a 
year ; and the rates of toll were fixed at 6c?. old tenor, 
or 1 copper for a passenger, 2 coppers for a horse, 7 
for a chair, 9 for a two-wheeled chaise, and 11 for a 
four-wheeled carriage. In 1783, it was let for £30 a 
year. A boat was to be kept in the night on each 
side of the river, and no more than double ferriage 
was to be required at unseasonable hours. 

It appears from the records, that this town claimed 
a right in the ferry, in opposition to the claims of 
Salem to an exclusive property. In 1742, it was 
voted, that the inhabitants feel aggrieved by Salem's 
taking away their former privilege in passing and 
repassing the ferry between Salem and Beverly, and 
a committee was chosen to treat with the selectmen 
of Salem about the matter, and to report ten days 
before the subsequent meeting in March. At the 
March meeting, following, in 1742-3, the report of 
this committee was considered and accepted, but 
further proceedings stayed until the action of Salem 
thereon was ascertained. At a meeting in September 
of the same year, a committee of five was appointed 
to use all lawful means for recovering the town's 
right in the ferry, and Mr. Bollan was retained as 
counsel. At a meeting, Dec. 26, 1743, John Thorn- 
dike, jr. was appointed agent for the town in rela- 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 109 

tion to this dispute, but in what mauner it was ad- 
justed, if ever, is unknown. 

As population and travel increased, the inconve- 
nience of a ferry must have been proportionably 
realized, and the erection of Charles river bridge, 
connecting Boston with Charlestown, suggested the 
idea of a similar improvement here. The subject 
was brought before the town at a meeting held June 
21st, 1787, on the petition of Thomas Stephens and 
others, and a unanimous vote was passed to instruct 
the selectmen to petition the General Court to grant 
George Cabot and others an act of incorporation, for 
the purpose of building a bridge. The selectmen, 
to whom this duty was assigned, were Joseph Rea, 
John Lovett, 4th, Charles Dodge, Jonathan Conant 
and Asa Leach. The prayer of the petitioners Avas 
granted, though not without opposition, Nov. 17th, 
1787. The persons named as corporators, were 
George Cabot, John Cabot, John Fiske, of Salem, 
Israel Thorndike, and Joseph White, of Salem, whose 
shocking murder, in the night of April 6th, 1830, 
thrilled the community with horror. The first pro- 
prietors' meeting was held at the Sun tavern, in Sa- 
lem, Dec. 13, 1787, of which Nathan Dane was mod- 
erator, and William Prescott, clerk. 

The first directors were George Cabot, John Fiske, 
Andrew Cabot, Joseph White, Edward Pulling, Jo- 
seph Lee and George Dodge. At the first meeting 
of the directors, George Cabot was chosen president, 
George Dodge and John Fiske, vice-presidents, and 
Thomas Davis, jr. treasurer. Robert Rantoul was 
chosen president in 1838, and has since sustained 
the office. 

The first pier was laid in May, 1788, and on the 
10 



110 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

24lh September of the same year, the bridge was 
opened for passage. The bridge is 1484 feet long, 
32 feet wide, and consists of 93 piers. It has a draw, 
with convenient piers, hawser, etc. for the accom- 
modation of vessels passing it. Its cost was about 
$16,000. The stock is divided into two hundred 
shares, and for several years previous to 1830, sold 
for about five times the original par value. It is 
still good property. The proprietors are required to 
pay to Salem £40 annually, as compensation for the 
ferry-ways, and £10 to Dan vers. 

With a view, as it seems, to prevent a diversion of 
travel from Dan vers Neck, which it was apprehended 
the erection of Essex bridge would effect, a bridge 
was commenced, and though opposed by the corpo- 
ration of Essex bridge, completed over Frost Fish 
river, near where the dam of the Danvers and Bev- 
erly iron-works company now is. The feeling in 
which this work was accomplished, gave it the name 
of Spite bi^idge, the memory of which time has not 
entirely obliterated. The right to take toll on Essex 
bridge was granted for seventy years from its open- 
ing, when it reverts to the Commonwealth.^ 



SCHOOLS AND ACADEMY. 

The history of education in this town, could it be 
written in detail, would be exceedingly interesting 
and instructive, illustrating the importance it has 
ever held in the estimation of its citizens; and show- 

* The course of the bridge from Beverly side to Salem, is south 
5 deg. west. 



6 ?»/ 
Its- 



^ 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. Ill 

ing the various progress it has made here in com- 
mon with sister towns. It is probable that provision 
of some kind was made for the education of children 
very soon after the settlement in 1630, though noth- 
ing relating to the subject is found on record until 
1656, when a meeting-house was built, which was 
also used for a school-house. For aught that is 
known, this arrangement continued for a period of 
more than eighteen years, when, Nov. 5th, 1674, a 
school-house was ordered to be built on the town's 
land, near the meeting-house, 20 feet long, 16 feet 
wide, and 9 feet stud. This was also to serve the 
purpose of a watch-house. At what time this order 
was executed does not appear. The erection of this 
building, from causes unknown, was probably de- 
layed several years, as by an arrangement entered 
into May 19, 1677, with Samuel Hardie, (the first 
schoolmaster whose name is recorded,) it was stipu- 
lated that he should have the meeting-house to teach 
in during that summer, and some other place during 
the winter. His agreement with the selectmen, was 
" to teach ordinary learning according to the utmost 
of his ability, and to take a faithful account, and 
receive pay according to ordinary rates." His first 
contract was for the year, and if the payments of 
the scholars did not amount to £20, the town was to 
meet the deficiency : and if the payments exceeded 
that sum, he was to pay the surplus to the town. 
He continued to keep the school for several years. 
He was the son of Robert Hardie, a citizen and 
haberdasher of London. Jan. 24, 1675, he married 
Mary, daughter of Samuel Dudley, of Exeter. Nov. 
5, 1674, he was chosen clerk of the writs for Bev- 
erly, and Sept. 1, 1684. was employed, with Andrew 



112 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

Elliot, to transcribe the town records into a new 
book. Besides being a teacher of youth, he is sup- 
posed to have exercised the functions of a physi- 
cian. 

At a town meeting Nov. 2, 1686, it was '' agreed 
by said town, with Corporal David Perkins, that the 
said town should have and did hire of said Perkins, 
one convenient room or chamber with a fire-room 
in it, for the space of six months after the date here- 
of, for the just sum of 10s. in pay, for a place for 
Mr. John Pearly to teach school in during said term, 
for the use of said town. And further, it was then 
agreed that the new selectmen, with the assistance 
of Capt. William Rayment and Corporal Thomas 
West, as a committee, were chosen to agree with 
said schoolmaster, about the terms of teaching for 
said town, provided that said committee do not ex- 
ceed £20 in pay, or £10 in money, for said teaching 
one whole year from the date hereof." 

In 1700, in conformity to the law then in force, a 
grammar-school was established, and Robert Hale, 
son of the minister, was appointed master, with a 
salary of £10, and an additional allowance if he 
kept an English school. The next year the school 
was kept by Daniel Dodge. In 1704, James Hale, 
another son of the minister, was the master, who 
taught writing, reading, casting accounts, Latin and 
Greek grammar, at a salary of £30. In 1720, the 
school was kept by Pyam Blowers, son of the min- 
ister, who is the last of the early teachers of whom 
record is made.^ In 1782, the grammar-school was 

* John Rogers, Henry Rast, William Shurtliff and John Cotton, 
are among the graduates of Harvard College, who were teachers in 
this school at an early period. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 113 

discontinued, for which the town was presented to 
the Court of Sessions, when it was resumed again 
and continued without further interruption to 1825, 
a period of 124 years. The grammar-school was 
kept in various places till 1798, when it was estab- 
lished during its further continuance in the new 
house on Watch-house Hill, the second story of 
which was fitted up for town purposes. 

About 1700, attention to the schools declined, 
but revived again about 1749, when the teacher was 
required to return a list to the selectmen, of the 
names of parents and masters, and the number of 
children and servants belonging to each, that were 
instructed by him. The selectmen were to tax the 
parents and masters for the support of the school, 
except such as they judged proper to exempt, and 
commit the tax to one of the constables for collec- 
tion. Any person refusing to pay for his proportion 
of fuel, was to be punished by his children or ser- 
vants being denied the privilege of warming them- 
selves at the schoolhouse fire ! 

At a meeting March 20th, 1749-50, the sum of 
£32, old tenor, was voted to the inhabitants of the 
east part of the town, to enable them to keep a 
school four months in the year. The next year 
£4.5.8, lavv^ful money, was voted them for the same 
purpose, and in 1752, it was voted that the grammar- 
school should be kept in that part of the town in 
proportion to what they paid towards taxes. From 
1754 to 1825, various changes and improvements 
were made, when the grammar-school was abolished, 
and a vote was passed to divide the school money 
raised by the town, among the ten school districts as 
they now exist, according to the number of ratable 
10^ 



1J4 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

polls. In 1836, the school committee revised the 
school regulations, which, at a subsequent town- 
meeting were adopted. The books prescribed for 
the use of the schools in those regulations, are — Cum- 
mings' Spelling Book, New Testament, Young Rea- 
der, Introduction to the National Reader, National 
Reader, Sullivan's Political Class Book, Wood- 
bridge's Geography and Atlas, Colburn's Arithmetic 
first part and sequel, Goodrich's History of the 
United States, Comstock's Philosophy, Holbrook's 
Geometry, Fowle's Linear Drawing, Blair's Rhet- 
oric, Colburn's Algebra, Bowditch's Navigator, Wor- 
cester's Dictionary, Story's Abridgement, Parker's 
Natural Philosophy, Greenleaf's Arithmetic — to 
which list others have since been added. It is made 
the duty of instructors to exert their best endeavors 
to impress on the minds of children and youth, com- 
mitted to their care and instruction, the principles of 
piety, justice, and a sacred regard to truth ; love to 
their country, humanity and universal benevolence ; 
sobriety, industry and frugality ; chastity, modera- 
tion and temperance ; and those other virtues which 
are the ornament of human society and the basis 
upon which a republican constitution is founded : 
but no books are to be used in school which are cal- 
culated to favor the tenets of any particular sect of 
christians. 

By the returns of 1841, it appears that the num- 
ber of persons in this town between the ages of 
4 and 16, is 1249, being an increase of 40 since the 
census of 1840, and of 122 since 1839. The number 
of all ages in all the schools is 1345, of which num- 
ber 50 are over 16 years, and 46 under 4. The av- 
erage attendance in the schools in summer, is 504 ; 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 115 

in winter, oyj ; making 152 less than the Avhole num- 
ber between 4 and 16. The number of children in 
primary schools is 817. In 1809, the school money 
was ordered to be rated at $1.90 for each poll, which 
is the sum assessed at present. The amount raised 
by taxes for the support of schools in 1798, was 
$1140; in 1806, $1600, and for their support last 
year, $2240.10. The gross amount paid for public 
and private tuition, including the academy, is up- 
wards of $5000. The schoolhouses, ten in number, 
were, with a single exception, erected before public at- 
tention was awakened, as for the last few years it has 
been, to the improved construction of such buildings. 
They are, nevertheless, commodious and in good 
condition. A convenient schoolhouse Avas erected 
in Bass river district in the autumn of 1842. 

The report of the school committee, made to the 
town meeting, March 10, 1806, is recorded at length. 
This is the commencement of a series of able reports 
on the state of the schools, which have been con- 
tinued to this time, with manifest good effect in rais- 
ing the standard of education. By spreading a gen- 
eral statement of the condition and relative improve- 
ment of the schools before all the citizens at the an- 
nual town meeting, a more general interest in the 
subject is excited. Emulation is also produced 
among the respective districts, which tends to the 
improvement of their schools. Without this general 
diffusion of knowledge concerning the schools, any 
attempts at improvement, made in town meetings, 
will always be received with an indifference more 
fatal to success than positive opposition. But the 
benefit of these reports is not confined exclusively 
to the towns to which they are made. By a provi- 



116 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

sion of law, a copy of them is required to be sent, 
with the annual returns, to the secretary of the Com- 
monwealth, for the use of the Board of Education. 
They are then examined by the secretary of the 
board, who makes such extracts as he judges may 
be serviceable, and incorporates them with the ab- 
stracts of returns which he makes to the board. 
These are published in a volume, and a copy sent to 
each of the towns in the Commonwealth ; and thus, 
an account of any improved method of managing 
schools, or a useful hint made in a report of one 
town, may become available to every district in the 
State. 

For the gratifying change effected in the character 
of the public schools, from 1804 to 1827, the town is 
chiefly indebted to the school committee, and espe- 
cially to its chairman, Rev. Dr. Abbot, for that pe- 
riod, whose unwearied devotedness and careful at- 
tention to the qualifications of teachers, contributed 
essentially to elevate the standard of education. 
Since the impulse thus given, succeeding committees 
have watched over the schools with unabated inter- 
est, and performed an amount of service highly cred- 
itable to their public spirit. The requisitions of the 
law have been conformed to, and a gradual improve- 
ment has been made. The condition of the schools 
at the present time is better than at any former pe- 
riod. In the grammar district arrangements are 
made by which the poorest children may obtain a 
good academic education, and if they desire it, be 
advanced in a collegiate course. 

The public schools, it has been justly remarked 
by one whose age and experience give weight to his 
words, " ought to be equal to the wants of every 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 117 

class in society; and until they are made so, they do 
not answer the proper end of their institution. If 
any class are obliged to separate from others in the 
EDUCATION of their children, it lays the foundation for 
distinctions and separations in society in riper years, 
incompatible with those principles of equality which 
ought to be so carefully cultivated and guarded by 
all who have at heart the preservation of our political 
institutions." The public school system was con- 
ceived in the spirit of republicanism. It proposes to 
educate for all the practical purposes of life, the mass, 
who without its aid must suffer the evils of ignor- 
ance, as well as entail those evils on the community. 
And it further aims to strengthen the arch of repub- 
lican institutions, and to perpetuate social equality, 
by bringing together and subjecting to a common 
training the children and youth of all stations. If 
the spirit of its conception is kept constantly in view 
by the guardians of education, this desirable and 
important result may be obtained, guaranteeing there- 
by the fulfilment of the fondest hopes of the patriot 
and philanthropist. How far, or how soon, the pub- 
lic schools will be equal to the wants of every class 
in society, must mainly depend on the parents and 
guardians of youth. Laws may do something and 
school committees may do more ; but, unless seconded 
by those who have the deepest interest at stake, the 
progress must be necessarily slow. Schools may 
have a name to live ; but while parents and guard- 
ians arejndifferent to their improvement, it is com- 
paratively little that committees can effect. The 
destiny of these institutions — colleges of the people, 
as they have been denominated — is not in the custody 
of the legislature exclusively, nor yet in the care of 



118 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

a few individuals appointed by the town to examine 
into their condition from time to time. It is in the 
hands of parents and guardians, and on them rests 
the responsibihty of their prosperous existence. If 
parents will do for their children as much as they do 
for favorite animals — if they will see that their bodies 
are warmly, comfortably and healthfully housed, and 
their minds suitably fed — if they will visit the school 
with something of the interest with which they go 
to their various employments, and with frequency — 
if they will exercise their right in demanding high 
qualifications in teachers, and in nameless other 
ways second the views and come up to the help of 
committees and the friends of education, public schools 
ivill flourish, and the bread thus cast upon the waters 
will return in an abundant and well-ripened intellec- 
tual harvest. 

The Beverly Academy was projected as a private 
school in February, 1833, by a number of gentlemen, 
who associated for that purpose. On the 1st of May 
following, they purchased an eligible lot of land on 
the north-easterly side of Washington street, and, 
dividing the property into thirty-two shares, immedi- 
ately commenced the erection of a building suited to 
their object. On the 17th June, the same year, the 
school was opened under Abiel Abbot, of Wilton, 
N. H., as principal, and Mary R. Peabody, as assist- 
ant. Mr. Abbot was succeeded the next year by 
Charles A. Peabody, of Tamworth, N. H. He con- 
tinued only one term, when Edward Bradstreet was 
employed. On the 30th January, 1835, the proprie- 
tors of the school obtained an act of incorporation, 
and Mr. Bradstreet continued the instruction until 
30th June, 1836. His assistant, with some intermis- 



^ HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 119 

sion, was Ann W. Abbot, He was succeeded on 
25th July following by Thomas Barnard West, who 
remained principal till his much-lamented death in 
October last. His assistants have been Mary Wil- 
liams, Ann W. Abbot and Mary T. Weld. The 
present principal is Edward Appleton, who graduat- 
ed at Cambridge in the class of 1835. The average 
number of pupils has been about 30 of both sexes, 
more than half of whom were males. The Academy 
has been from the first under excellent supervision, 
and has won for itself a deservedly popular reputa- 
tion. 

In 1837, a school was commenced in the second 
parish, and incorporated as the New England Christ- 
ian Academy. This school was conducted on the 
manual labor system, and during its continuance, 
averaged about 60 pupils. Its preceptor, with the 
exception of a single term, was Mr. Joseph Henry 
Siewers. The Academy remained in operation less 
than two years, when, for reasons of a pecuniary 
nature, it was closed. The principal university in 
the United States has found munificent friends among 
the citizens of this town, who, within about twenty 
years, have made bequests and donations to it 
amounting to nearly $50,000.^ 



COLLEGE graduates. 



The following is a list of persons born in this town, 
graduated at the several colleges in New England. 

* Quincy's Hist. Harvard College. 



120 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

The list doubtless exhibits less than the whole num- 
ber, as the means for obtaining an accurate account 
are necessarily imperfect. 

Harvard. 1686, Robert Hale. 1703, James Hale. 
1721, Robert Hale, jr., Pyam Blowers. 1724, Wil- 
liam Balch. 1728, Joseph Lovett. 1731, Henry 
Hale. 1732, Joseph Herrick. 1733, Thomas Balch. 
1738, John Chipman. 1767, Henry Herrick. 1777, 
Jacob Herrick. 1782, Benjamin Bartlett, Larkin 
Thorndike. 1791, Nathaniel C. Lee. 1799, Joseph 
Dane. 1806, Daniel Oliver. 1809, Nathaniel K. 
Oliver. 1810, Thomas Stephens. 1812, Charles 
Brown. 1813, William Thorndike. 1816, Augus- 
tus Thorndike. 1818, Henry K. Oliver (honorary 
degree). 1820, Ingalls Kittredge, Jr. 1826, An- 
drew P. Peabody, Robert Rantoul, Jr. 

BowDoiN. George Thorndike (honorary degree at 
Harvard, 1807). 1811, John M'Kean. 1817, James 
M'Kean. William Abbott and Isaac Rea (date un- 
known). 1826, George Trask. Frederick Choate 
(date unknown). 

Amherst. 1831, Benjamin Ober. 1836, D. Oli- 
phant. 1839, James D. Trask. 1842, Issacher Le- 
favour. 

Yale. Nathaniel Dike, Joseph Shaw. 

Dartmouth. 1796, Josiah Batchelder (degree of 
M. B. at Harvard, 1799). 1839, Benjamin Franklin 
Edwards. 



LIBRARIES, reading ROOMS AND LYCEUM. 

The Social Library was commenced by subscrip- 
tion, Jan. 20th, 1802. It was divided into one hun- 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 121 

dred and thirty-two shares, and an assessment of $5 
laid on each share. The $660 thus raised, was in- 
vested in a valuable collection of books, selected by 
Joshua Fisher, Nathan Dane, and Thomas Davis, 
assisted by Rev. Mr. McKean. This collection has 
been increased from time to time by donations, and 
by purchase' with sums raised by assessments, until 
it now contains not far from one thousand volumes. 
The original share-holders were seventy-two. They 
now number more than one hundred. 

The library is supplied with several of the most 
valuable foreign and domestic periodical publications, 
and books are added from time to time by the trus- 
tees, who are invested with discretionary powers. 
The utility and benefit of this institution were sensi- 
bly felt soon after its establishment, when books were 
comparatively scarce and costly, affording, as it did, 
to many families, the perusal of valuable books not 
readily elsewhere found ; and its usefulness is con- 
stantly increasing. 

The Mechanics' Association possess a select and 
increasing library, which affords the means of intel- 
lectual improvement to its members. This and the 
Social Library are kept in the school-committee room, 
in the town-hall, both of which are open weekly, the 
former on Thursday and the latter on Saturday, for 
the delivery and return of books. Connected with 
some of the churches, particularly the First, are val- 
uable libraries. There is a circulating library kept 
by Stephens Baker, and several good private collec- 
tions. But the most striking and important feature 
in the diffusion, among us, of useful knowledge by 
books and reading, is the School District Librarjr. 
11 



122 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

It had, for several years, been an object of desire to 
the friends of education, that something might be 
effected for the intellectual benefit of a large and 
constantly increasing juvenile population, who from 
local and other causes, were not enjoying the advan- 
tages to be obtained in populous villages and cities. 
To this end, a resolve was passed in General Court, 
1842, appropriating $15 from the State school fund, 
to every school district in the Commonwealth that 
shall raise a like sum for the purchase of a school 
library. By the establishment of such libraries in 
each district, the means of intelligence are placed in 
the hands of every child ; and if the books are select- 
ed, as they should be, with reference to usefulness, 
entertainment and moral influence, the result cannot 
be otherwise than propitious to intellectual and moral 
development; and it is highly creditable to this town, 
that the provisions of the resolve are very generally 
complied with ; so that, with the Sunday-school 
libraries, in each of the religious societies, the youth 
of Beverly are in the possession of unusual advan- 
tages. Simultaneously with the inception of this 
plan, a publishing firm in Boston commenced the 
publication of a series of works, under the supervi- 
sion of the Board of Education, entitled the '' Com- 
mon School Library." It consists of fifty 12mo. 
volumes, and the same number of 18mo. size, adapt- 
ed to the capacities of young readers. Taking into 
view the distinguished character of the board, con- 
sisting of gentlemen of both political parties and of 
different religious denominations, the freedom of the 
books from sectarian peculiarities, and the superior 
mechanical execution of the work, these volumes 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 123 

may be pronounced unrivalled by any series ever 
issued from the American press, and are worthy, as 
they will command, an extensive patronage. 

The other means for general information in this 
town, are three reading rooms, which are well 
suppHed with newspapers. A lyceum was estab- 
lished here among the earliest in New England, and 
has been, to this time, successfully sustained. 



MERCHANTS. 

In the list of distinguished merchants and valued 
citizens, may be recorded the names of George, An- 
drew, and John Cabot, Moses Brown, Israel Thorn- 
dike, Joseph Lee, John and Thomas Stephens. 

George Cabot was born in Salem, in 1751, and in 
childhood came to this town. He early engaged in 
commercial pursuits, and at the age of eighteen be- 
came the master of a vessel, in which capacity he 
visited various parts of Europe. Mr. Cabot belonged 
to that class of citizens, who have contributed so 
much to the prosperity of the United States, and 
who gave occasion to Burke's splendid eulogium on 
the enterprize and intelligence of New England nav- 
igators. His sea-faring life was made subservient 
to the improvement of a mind naturally contemplat- 
ive and quick to discern. The countries, customs, 
and people, with whom his foreign voyages made 
him acquainted, were regarded with the eye of a 
statesman and philosopher, and he drew from them 
enlightened and comprehensive views of human 
nature and society. 



124 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

In 1779, at the age of twenty-iivej Mr. Cabot was 
chosen by the town delegate to the provincial con- 
gress which met at Concord, with a vievvT to the vis- 
ionary project of ordaining a maximum of prices. 
At this time, in the ruinous condition of commerce, 
it was hoped to cheapen commodities by forcing the 
holders to sell at reduced and fixed rates. Good 
sense triumphed over folly, and it was at this con- 
gress that Mr. Cabot first displayed that profound 
acquaintance with the correct principles of political 
economy, for which, throughout his life, he was most 
remarkable. Before Adam Smith was known in 
this country, and twenty years before Say and the 
continental writers had formed any correct ideas on 
the subject, he maintained the present prevailing and 
enlightened doctrines concerning domestic and inter- 
national commerce. 

He was an influential member of the state conven- 
tion, in 1788, which was called to deliberate on the 
adoption of the federal constitution ; and in securing 
the dearest interests of the country, was associated 
with King, Ames, and Parsons. Subsequently to 
this, he was elected to the United States senate. Of 
that body he possessed the entire confidence, and 
was at the same time the confidential friend of Wash- 
ington and Hamilton, then the eye and ear of the 
nation. If there be any merit in the financial sys- 
tem reported by Hamilton, and preserved through 
all the changes of parties, Mr. Cabot is entitled to a 
large share of it; for upon his commercial knowledge 
and profound views, not only of finance but of polit- 
ical economy. Gen. Hamilton reposed the most un- 
limited confidence. The friendship and mutual re- 
gard of these two distinguished statesmen continued 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 125 

till the premature and lamented death of Hamilton. 
Nor was the intimacy between Cabot and Ames less 
close. They were miited in feeling, principle, purity 
and patriotism. 

Mr. Cabot never courted distinctions, and it was 
with reluctance that he accepted the office of sena- 
tor. =^ At the expiration of the fifth year of his ser- 
vice, he resigned his seat, to enjoy once more the 
congenial calm of private life. In 1793, he removed 
from Beverly to Boston and though he shunned 
ofiice and place, his influence continued undiminish- 
ed. In 1814, he felt himself constrained to yield his 
preference, and for a short time appeared again in 
public life, as president of the convention which 
met at Hartford, just before the close of the late war. 
Of that convention, so suggestive of subsequent po- 
litical disquisitions, it is not proposed here to express 
an opinion. But in sanctioning it with his presence 
and counsel, Mr. Cabot's age, good sense, and well- 
known principles, warrant the affirmation, that he 
followed the suggestions of mature reflection, and 
acted with the purest motives and views. Indeed, 
for forty years he was the Nestor, the wise, calm 
and considerate counsellor, of most of the intelligent 
statesmen on the federal side, in our State and na- 
tional governments. Asking nothing for himself, 
hoping and wishing nothing for his friends, with a 
mind capable of comprehending the most abstruse 
questions, and ready to discuss the most simple — 
without parade, without assumption, applying the 
powers of a most persuasive eloquence in the most 
finished language, pouring forth the stores of a mind 

* When the Navy Department was created, Mr. Cabot was offered 
the office of First Secretary by the elder Adams, which he declined. 
11# 



126 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

enriched by various literature and research — he never 
failed to convince, or inform, or persuade. The 
great characteristics of his mind, in which all would 
agree, were simplicity and profoundness. It is im- 
possible to calculate how extensive are the effects of 
such a mind on the welfare and happiness of a state, 
and its value can be best realized only by its loss.^ 

Mr. Cabot died at Boston, April 18th, 1823, in the 
72d year of his age, after a painful sickness, which 
he endured with christian resignation. The author 
of an obituary notice, and who had for many years 
known him intimately, says, " No one could converse 
with Mr. Cabot an hour, without being struck with 
the correctness of his sentiments, the liberality of 
his opinions, the litness of his illustrations, and the 
propriety and beauty of the language with which 
his thoughts were clothed. No one could see him, 
indeed, and mark the proportions of his form, the 
dignity and grace of his demeanor, and the expres- 
sion of his manly and intelligent countenance, with- 
out being convinced that he was no common man. 

'' But they who saw him often, and knew him in- 
timately, could best estimate the resources of his 
mind and the high worth of his character. He had 
always something new to communicate, for delight 
and instruction; and they who conversed with him 
every week and day had never occasion to complain 
that his stock of thoughts was exhausted, or that 
there was nothing more to be learned from him. 
Integrity, firm principle, and a high sense of true 
honor, were the habits of Mr. Cabot's soul; and with 
these were blended sympathy, benevolence, and a 
singular modesty. 

* Kirkland's sermon on the death of George Cabot. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 127 

"In short, there was in Mr. Cabot's character, a 
rare nnion of those qualities which constitute true 
goodness, and raise man to the high dignity of which 
his nature is susceptible. To borrow a passage from 
the eloquent sermon, preached on the Sunday after 
his interment, by President Kirkland, it may be said 
with confidence, that ' the enumeration of the prin- 
cipal virtues, considered in relation to ourselves, our 
fellow-men, and the Deity, is a delineation of his 
character. He was distinguished by prudence, which 
seeks lawful advantages by right and appropriate 
means ; by contentment, which acquiesces in a mod- 
erate portion of good, is reasonable in wishes, and 
keeps at a distance from selfish repining, though not 
without keen sensibility and a constitutional predis- 
position to anxiety ; by fortitude, a spirit collected 
and resolute in difficulties and dangers, and evincing 
always an entire superiority to fear; by patience, 
bearing trials with an equal mind, and especially 
showing exemplary composure in bodily suflTerings ; 
and by modesty, refusing to make pretensions, and 
display superiority, whilst estimating highly the 
value of opinion — paying a delicate respect to the im- 
pressions of other minds, and pleased with the favor- 
able judgment of his fellow-men. He exhibited the 
spirit of application and industry, executing season- 
ably and thoroughly what he undertook ; and though 
less wilUng than was desired to assume responsible 
employments, he was far removed from any thing 
like indolence. He manifested a wise and careful 
self-government, disdaining the bondage of sense; 
in pleasures, regarding the boundaries prescribed by 
nature, by health and by duty. He saw the value 
of the golden mean in conduct, and cultivated the 



128 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

moderation which prevents virtue from degenerating 
into vice by irregularity and excess, and which, in 
relation to distinction and place, rather avoids than 
courts pre-eminence.' 

"Mr. Cabot's religious views, principles and feel- 
ings, were in perfect harmony with the whole of his 
character. A deep sense of his relation to God, was 
the foundation of his virtue. A firm belief in the 
divine authority of the christian revelation, was the 
result of a full and candid examination of its evi- 
dences ; and, though he punctually attended on all 
its ordinances, and was never backward to profess 
and maintain his convictions of its truth and excel- 
lence, his Christianity was yet more in his heart 
than it was on his lips, and was to be seen in the 
conduct of every hour, and in all his usual occupa- 
tions, as conspicuously as on the first day of the 
week, and in the temple of God. There was neither 
cant nor levity in his conversation, superstition in 
his thoughts, uncharitableness in his feelings, nor 
censoriousness in his judgments. His opinions were 
not to be shaken by the usual arguments or cavils, 
for they were formed by impartial and mature inves- 
tigation ; and he was as well versed in theology as 
most who teach it. The faith which he had delib- 
erately adopted in the strength of his days, remained 
to comfort his age, to cheer him in illness, and sup- 
port him in the hour of death." 

Andrew Cabot was born in Salem, Dec. 16, 1750; 
and, with his brother, entered largely into commer- 
cial pursuits, from which he early retired, after ac- 
quiring a handsome fortune. In 1779, he chartered 
to the provincial government the ship Defiance, of 16 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 129 

guns, valued at £100,000, paper money, for an expe- 
dition to dislodge the enemy from Penobscot, in 
which she was lost. He purchased a farm in Cam- 
bridge, of Lieut. Governor Thomas Oliver, and also 
an estate of Col. Lechmere, known as " Lechmere 
Point." He was of lively temperament, was much 
esteemed for his social qualities, and died after a 
short illness. May, 1791, in the 41st year of his age. 

John Cabot was a representative from this town in 
the CTcneral Court in 1792, and in 1796 was nomi- 
nated as a candidate for representative to Congress, 
but declined. He afterwards removed to Salem. 

MosEs Brown was a descendant, in the fifth gen- 
eration, from Abraham Brown, who, in 1632, settled 
at Watertown. He was born at Waltham, in April, 
1748, was graduated at Harvard College in 1768, 
and commenced business as a merchant in Beverly 
in 1772. Espousing the cause of American inde- 
pendence with great zeal, he raised a company of 
men in 177.5, and in January, 1776, joined the line 
of the American army, as a captain in Glover's reg- 
iment ; served in Nev/ York and New Jersey, and 
was at the battle of Trenton. His corps being dis- 
banded, in 1777 he returned to Beverly, resumed 
business in partnership with his brother-in-law, Is- 
rael Thorndike, and contiiuied in active and success- 
ful pursuit of it until the year 1800, when he retired 
with an ample fortune. He always took an impor- 
tant part in public enterprizes. He was one of the 
largest original proprietors of Essex bridge, connect- 
ing Salem and Beverly, and of the Salem and Bos- 
ton turnpike, and had a leading agency in the con- 



130 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

struction of these, — which, as great undertakings, 
and as affording facihtics for communication, were 
for a long time not less thought of than the recently- 
opened railroad between the same places now is. 
He was a federalist of the Washington school, and 
in 1808 one of the presidential electors. He united 
integrity with benevolence, was exemplary in all 
social and domestic relations, and a generous con- 
tributor to public and private charities and associa- 
tions. He died in June, 1820, and " to afford some 
farther aid to the theological institution at Cam- 
bridge, the government of which is connected with 
Harvard University, he bequeathed to that important 
institution two thousand dollars, in the six per cent, 
stock of the United States, to be applied in any way 
the government shall determine will best promote 
the cause of Christianity, and the design and utility 
of this religious establishment." ^ 

Israel Thorndike, one of the most eminent and 
successful merchants in New England, was born in 
Beverly, in the year 1755. He had in youth no 
advantages of education, except those which the 
public schools of his native town afforded ; but he 
possessed, in the vigor of his own mind, a never- 
failing spring of self-advancement. The war of the 
American revolution was an event adapted to call 
into activity his powers and spirit of enterprize. 
Embracing with zeal the cause of his country, he 
became part owner and captain of an armed ship ; 
and the judgment with which he planned his cruises, 

* See " Sermons by the late Rev. Abiel Abbot, D. D., of Beverly, 
Mass.," pp. 154-165; also, "History of Harvard University, by Jo- 
siah Quincy," vol. 2, pp. 414-415. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 131 

and the intrepidity and diligence with which he con- 
ducted them, were rewarded with distinguished suc- 
cess. Having entered into partnership with his 
brother-in-law, the late Moses Brown, he engaged, 
after the peace of 1783, in an extensive and most 
profitable commerce with the East Indies and China. 
Sagacity, judgment, industry, strict attention to busi- 
ness, and thorough acquaintance with the details of 
every commercial enterprize in which he engaged, 
were the chief causes of his success. He was also 
an early patron of manufactures; and invested, it 
was said, a greater amount of capital in them than 
any other individual in New England. By his vari- 
ous pursuits he accumulated an immense property — 
amounting, at the time of his decease, to nearly a 
million and a half of dollars. In 1810, he removed 
his business to Boston, in consideration of the greater 
advantages for prosecuting it in that central empo- 
rium. He still retained a residence in his native 
place, passing a considerable portion of his time 
there, and ever manifesting a warm interest in its 
welfare. He was eminently social in his feelings ; 
and none more than he delighted in dispensing a 
princely hospitality. In a tribute to his memory, 
published soon after his death, it is justly remarked, 
that " few individuals, endowed with such mental 
powers, appear in a generation." His fellow-citi- 
zens showed themselves ready to acknowledge his 
superior talents by repeatedly calling him to public 
office. At different periods of his life, he was a 
member of the convention called for the adoption of 
the constitution of the United States, and a repre- 
sentative and senator in the legislature of Massa- 
chusetts. He was a generous contributor to patriotic, 



132 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

charitable and religious objects, and often gave an 
active agency in their support. In 1806, he sub- 
scribed five hundred dollars for the foundation of the 
Natural History professorship in Harvard Univer- 
sity; and also the same amount in 1818, for the 
hbrary of the theological school. In the same year, 
being informed that the library of Professor Ebeling, 
of Hamburgh, was for sale, and that an agent of the 
King of Prussia was negotiating for it, Mr. Thorn- 
dike ordered it to be purchased, at the cost of six 
thousand five hundred dollars, and presented it to 
the University ; thereby securing to his country one 
of the most complete and valuable collections of 
works extant on American history. The first parish 
of Beverly has a remembrance of his liberal regard, 
in an addition to its funds of about $2600, received 
from the sale of an estate presented to it, agreeably 
to his expressed intentions and wishes, by his sons, 
to whom it is also indebted for the gift, at the same 
time, of an elegant chandelier for its vestry. 

Mr. Thorndike closed his long career of eminence 
and usefulness in May, 1832; retaining, to the last, 
great energy and activity, and expiring calmly, 
though suddenly, in the bosom of his family, and in 
the midst of devoted friends.'^ 

Joseph Lee was born in Salem in May, 1744. His 
ancestors came from England, and were settled in Bos- 
ton early in the 18th century, where they engaged in 
mercantile pursuits. At the age of thirteen, he adopt- 
ed a sea-faring life, and afterwards succeeded to the 

^ See Quincy's History of Harvard University, vol. 2, pp. 411- 
414, 596. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 133 

command of a vessel in the European and West 
India trade. At a subsequent period he became a 
merchant and ship-owner, and for many years was 
partner with George Cabot in the trade to Spain, the 
West Indies and Baltic. During his residence in 
Beverly, he was engaged largely in underwriting 
privately on the shipping of this town, Salem and 
Marblehead, and was also a director in an insurance 
office in Salem. 

Mr. Lee took no prominent part in the political 
affairs of the times ; and though he held no office in 
town, he took an active interest in promoting its 
various municipal concerns. He had a turn for me- 
chanics, especially naval architecture, and was con- 
stantly employed in devising improvements in ship- 
building. His models for ships were adopted by 
many of the mechanics and merchants of Essex and 
Boston, and led the way in great degree to the great 
improvement of construction by which superior sail- 
ing is combined with an increased carrying capacity. 
The brig Caravan, built in Salem in 1801, by Briggs, 
a celebrated builder, and owned by his sons, was 
constructed on a model furnished by him, and was 
considered to be, in point of sailing and carrying, in 
advance of any vessel of her time. 

Mr. Lee sought no other emolument for his im- 
provements than the satisfaction arising from a con- 
sciousness of having contributed to the advancement 
of the naval art. He was always ready to furnish infor- 
mation and models to all who consulted him, and to 
give his personal attendance in a supervision of ship- 
building when within his neighborhood. He took an 
active part in procuring the erection of Essex bridge, 
of which he was one of the largest proprietors. For 
12 



134 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

several years he gave his time gratuitously to the care 
and superintendence of the bridge, and on his removal 
to Boston, received the thanks of the directors and a 
piece of plate as a recognition of their estimate of his 
services. 

Some years previous to his removal to Boston, 
which occurred in 1807, that he might be near his 
children, who were settled there, Mr. Lee had retired 
from the active pursuits of commerce. In the me- 
tropolis he was elected a director of an insurance 
company, in which office he continued until from 
advanced years he voluntarily retired. He died in 
1831, at the age of 87. The industry of Mr. Lee 
was crowned with success, and his fortune, though 
not so considerable as acquired by some who contin- 
ued in business after he retired, was adequate to the 
wants of a numerous family and the promptings of 
a benevolent disposition. He contributed freely to 
the support of literary and charitable institutions, 
and within a year of his death made a donation of 
$20,000 to the Massachusetts General Hospital. Mr. 
Lee was a man of modest pretensions, and passed 
through life without an enemy, and without a stain 
upon his character. For the progress of his race he 
had a quick and abiding sympathy, and to the cause 
of civilization he contributed a full share. To the 
close of his life he retained a strong attachment to 
the people of Beverly, among whom he spent a con- 
siderable portion of his days, and where he is now 
remembered as an honorable merchant, and an exem- 
plary, useful citizen. 

John Stephens was born in this town Oct. 7, 1763. 
He was grandson of John Stephens, the friend of 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 135 

Robert Briscoe, and son of Thomas Stephens, who 
died in June, 1795, aged 58. Mr. Stephens was dis- 
tinguished for cheerfuhiess, energy in business, and 
patriotism. He took an active part in town affairsj 
and shared largely in the confidence of his fellow- 
citizens, by whom he was several times chosen their 
representative in the General Court. He died of 
fever after a short illness, universally lamented, Oct. 
28, 1801, aged 38. 

Thomas Stephens was born May 9, 1769, and early 
engaged in mercantile pursuits with his brother John. 
He held the office of town-treasurer, and was often 
consulted on important town affairs. He was four 
times elected representative to the General Court, and 
afterwards held a seat for several years at the senate- 
board. Firm in the principles upon which he acted, 
social in his manners and exemplary in his life, he 
was greatly beloved by all who knew him. He died 
on the same day, and nearly at the same hour, with 
his friend Rev. Dr. Abbot, June 7, 1828, aged 59. 



the bar. 



Under this head are placed the names of Hon. 
Nathan Dane^ and Hon. William Thorndike. 

Mr. Dane was born in Ipswich, Mass., Dec. 29, 
1752. He was descended from one of three brothers 

* This notice of Mr. Dane, from the pen of Rev. C. T. Thayer, 
was originally published in the American Jurist and Law Magazine 
for July, 1835^ and has been kindly furnished with some additions, 
by the author, for republication here. 



136 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

of that name, who early came over from England 
and settled in Gloucester, Andover and Ipswich. His 
father was a farmer of that worthy and substantial 
class, from Avhich have sprung so many of the dis- 
tinguished men of our country. His parents are 
both of them represented to have been respectable 
and excellent persons, and he always spoke of them 
with veneration and affection. They had a numer- 
ous family — six sons and six daughters, — of whom 
only two daughters now survive ; and one of these, 
Mrs. Appleton, residing in Beverly, is in her 102d year. 
Mr. Dane labored on his father's farm till after he 
was twenty-one. To this circumstance he often 
referred as having contributed essentially to that 
physical vigor and power of long-continued applica- 
tion to study, for which he was afterward so remark- 
able. It was not till after he was of age, that he 
enjoyed more than the advantages of a common- 
school education, which, at that time, were very 
small; though he was then in the habit of devoting 
most of the leisure he could command to reading, 
and his favorite study, mathematics. Soon after he 
became of age, he resolved to prepare himself for 
college. This he did in the short space of eight 
months. He entered Harvard University in 1774, 
and graduated, with high reputation for industry 
and scholarship, in 1778. After leaving college he 
went to Beverly, where he taught a school, at the 
same time pursuing the study of law under the late 
Judge Wetmore, of Salem. His surviving pupils 
speak of him with affectionate respect, as having 
been a devoted and successful instructor. In 1782, 
he commenced the practice of law in Beverly, and 
came almost at once into extensive and profitable 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 137 

business. He was, however, no fomenler of litiga- 
tion, but was conscientious in endeavoring to check 
it whenever justice or expediency admonished him 
so to do, and the effect of his character in this res- 
pect has long been visible in the place where, through 
his whole professional life, he resided. When clients 
came to him under highly excited feelings, he used 
frequently to put by attending to their cause till the 
next morning — to give them, as he said, opportunity 
to sleep upon it. 

Though the practice of his profession, till within 
about twenty years past, v/hen by growing deafness 
he was induced gradually, and at length wholly to 
retire from it, continued his chief object, he yet found 
time to fill, with honor to himself and advantage to 
the community, various important public stations. 
In 1782, and the three following years, he was a 
representative in the General Court of Massachusetts. 
In 1785, '86 and '87, he was a delegate to Congress. In 
1790, '94,'96, '97 and '98, he was a member of the Mas- 
sachusetts Senate. He was appointed on a commit- 
tee to revise the laws of the State in 1795, and again 
to a similar duty in 1811 and '12. In 1794, he was 
appointed a judge of the court of common pleas for 
Essex county, but very soon after taking the oaths of 
office, resigned. He was an elector of President of 
the United States in 1812, a member of the Hartford 
convention in 1814, and chosen in 1820 member of 
the convention for revising the State constitution, 
but. on account of deafness did not take his seat. In 
these and various other civil offices, his services were 
eminently efficient and valuable. " While in the 
Senate of Massachusetts, he is said to have been dis- 
tinguished by his ability in debate, knowledge of 
12=^ 



138 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

public business and capacity for discharging it. and 
the uprightness and directness of his views. The 
journals of the old Congress, in which he continued 
till the adoption of the present constitution of the 
United States, show that he was appointed on nearly 
every committee of any importance. It was in this 
assembly that he reported the celebrated ordinance 
for the government of the territory of the United 
States north-west of the river Ohio." •' We are ac- 
customed," said Mr. Webster, in the U. S. Senate dur- 
ing the debate on Foot's resolution in 1830, " to praise 
the lawgivers of antiquity; we help to perpetuate 
the fame of Solon and Lycurgus ; but I doubt whether 
one single law of any lawgiver, ancient or modern, 
has produced effects of a more distinct and marked 
and lasting character than the ordinance of '87. 
That instrument was drawn by Nathan Dane, then 
and now a citizen of Massachusetts. It was adopted, 
as. I think I have understood, without the slightest 
alteration ; and certainly it has happened to few 
men, to be the authors of a political measure of more 
large and enduring consequence. It fixed, forever, 
the character of the population in the vast regions 
northwest of the Ohio, by excluding from them invol- 
untary servitude. It impressed on the soil itself, while 
it was yet a wilderness, an incapacity to bear up any 
other than freemen. It laid the interdict against per- 
sonal servitude, in original compact, not only deeper 
than all local law, but deeper, also, than all local con- 
stitutions. Under the circumstances then existing, I 
look upon this original and seasonable provision as a 
real good attained. We see its consequences at this mo- 
ment, and we shall never cease to see them, perhaps, 
while the Ohio shall flow." To have been the drafter 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 139 

of the ordinance of 1787 alone, it has therefore, not 
without justice been said, is glory enough for any 
man. 

Mr. Dane, besides, took an active interest in many 
objects of general improvement and benevolence. 
His liberal donation of §15,000, (which he bestowed 
in his hfetime, and the first rich fruits of which he 
lived to see and enjoy), to the Law College of Har- 
vard University, is well known. It resulted imme- 
diately in the establishment of the Dane Professor- 
ship of Law, which has since been " adorned by the 
learning and talents of Mr. Justice Story, and from 
which he has sent forth those immortal works that 
have excited the admiration of the jurists of Europe, 
and first called their attention to the jurisprudence 
of our country." Mr. Dane was a member and sup- 
porter of the Massachusetts Agricultural Society, the 
Massachusetts and Essex Historical Societies, and 
the American Antiquarian Society. To the Indiana 
and Michigan Historical Societies, of which, in 
gratitude for his being the author of the ordinance 
which constitutes the fundamental law of those 
states, he was elected an honorary member ; and 
to the Dane Law Library of Ohio, for the same rea- 
son bearing his name, he was a donor. He was 
also one of the founders of the Massachusetts Tem- 
perance Society, (the first established society of the 
kind,) was for several years president, and contri- 
buted to its funds. Not only did he lend his aid to 
these general objects, but he interested himself in 
those which were on a smaller scale, and near 
home. For instance, during the distresses conse- 
quent on the embargo of the last war, he devised a plan 
for a society to relieve the poor of his own town, by 



140 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

furnishing them work, which was formed and 
proved beneficial in its operation, and to which he 
was himself a liberal contributor in money and per- 
sonal services. 

While he was thus engaged in public labors, he 
found time for much private study, as the results of 
his retired exertions abundantly show. His great 
work, " A General Abridgement and Digest of Amer- 
ican Law, with occasional notes and comments," in 
nine volumes, has long been before the world. It 
was pubhshed in 1823 and 1829. and is regarded 
a monument of immense industry and learning. 
While that was in progress, he was also employed 
on another work, of nearly equal extent, entitled a 
Moral and Political Survey of America, which he 
left complete in manuscript. The objects of this 
survey, as stated by himself, are " First, to bring 
into view the moral and political principles of the 
various parts of America, from its discovery by Co- 
lumbus in 1492, to the establishment of the federal 
constitution in 1790; tracing those of civilized 
America to their true sources in the old world ; 
making federal America the principal object : Sec- 
ondly, to form a just idea of the moral and political 
condition and character of men here, in the same 
period : Thirdly, useful reflections on proper occa- 
sions, especially in regard to that character and 
those principles of law and liberty, on which has 
arisen a great and enlightened nation in United 
America — principles most essential to the preserva- 
tion of its present condition : Fourthly, to do a little 
towards preserving in our country, a manly, moral 
character, ' a moral regulated liberty,' where this 
character and this wise union of law and liberty, 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 141 

are so very important, and where a vicious charac- 
ter and Hcentious Uberty would soon destroy self- 
government." The following extract from the pre- 
face is subjoined, both as relating to the work itself, 
and as possessing the interest of an autobiographical 
sketch. " Taking into view the author's other la- 
bors, public and private, especially his other vol- 
uminous writings in print and manuscript, some may 
doubt if he has had sufficient time properly to form 
and revise this work, by no means a small one. If 
any such doubts do or shall exist, a mere sketch of 
his long life, method, and course of study, will, it is 
believed, at once remove them, and show how much 
common talents, in sixty years and more of studies, 
accompanied by unceasing industry and exertions, 
may accomplish. So far as there may be any merit 
in the author's writings, professional labors, and 
public services, state and federal, it is to be at- 
tributed entirely to his industry, method, and course 
of studies. As much extended as are his writings, 
facts that may be briefly stated will show, there has 
been no need of haste or want of time. By several 
years' labor on a farm, a constitution good in itself 
was much strengthened and confirmed. In the same 
years, by mathematical studies, his mind acquired 
the habits of close thinking and patient investigation. 
His firm constitution, and unwearied habits in 
thinking, and persevering industry, enabled him in 
eight months to prepare for admission into Harvard 
College, on examination in the usual manner, in the 
year 1774. The same firm constitution, patient 
habits, and untiring mind, have enabled him since 
to study and write at least twelve hours a day. 
Neither the care of children, nor the cares or want 



142 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

of property, have interfered with his studies. In 
May, 1782, he began to collect materials for this, 
and his law work. Since leaving college, in 1778, 
he has confined his studies and writings principally 
to the subjects of law and politics, history and biog- 
raphy, morals and religion. He has always, since 
he commenced these studies, used common-place 
books, some of which are preserved ; and has ever 
made his public and professional business, and his 
writings, go hand in hand and afford aid one to the 
other. Are not sixty years of such studies nearly 
equal to the studies of three common lives, in time 
and industry? It is here proper to state that, in 
1782, when the author, in fact, commenced this and 
his law works, there were only fragments in the 
country on either subject, and he came to the reso- 
lution to make his collection of materials on both 
subjects as extensive as possible, so as to produce 
something like a whole on each. Could he now be 
carried back to the age of twenty-eight, and find the 
copious writings now existing on each subject by 
others, probably he would not think of engaging in 
either case. Though no other person has ever pro- 
duced a general code, or abridgement of American 
law, or a general survey of all parts of America any 
way like this, yet the writings of others on these 
topics are now copious and very valuable. But be- 
ing the writings of numerous distinct and scattered 
authors, they are in numerous distinct and scattered 
parts. Of near thirty histories, by as many authors, 
each one is only the history of a single state. It 
will be found on inquiry, that near half of the chap- 
ters in this work are peculiar to it, but a small part 
of which is to be found in any other writings pub- 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 143 

lished ; and where the information given can be 
found elsewhere, it is generally in a scattered state, 
and not embodied, as in this work. Indeed, no one 
has ever attempted to embody in a general work, 
the morals and politics of all parts of America, for 
three centuries and more, including statistics largely, 
and religion as far as it is a part of the constitutions 
and laws. In fact, no work of this kind has any 
other author attempted of any part of America." 

The "Survey" evinces unquestionably great re- 
search, and comprehends a vast amount of informa- 
tion. But it is marked with the same neglect of 
style, which is so obvious in Mr. Dane's other writ- 
ings. His object, when composing, always seemed 
to be to pursue the thought before him, and simply 
to make his views intelligible to others. He had no 
graces of style, either native or borrowed ; neither 
did he ever seek for any. To instruct and con- 
vince — not to fascinate and delight — was his aim. 
For truth — to acquire and communicate it — did he 
chiefly concern himself; for its dress he cared little 
or nothing. 

In all he did, indeed, in his habits and manners 
generally, he was rigidly simple. He went straight 
forward to whatever object he had in view, without 
any parade either in the preparation or execution. 
When he spoke, whether in town meeting or in more 
public bodies, his eloquence was that of fact and 
argument — perfectly plain, the expression of strong 
conviction, without any of the arts of oratory. He 
was uniformly prompt, punctual, and systematic. 
He had a particular time and a particular way for 
doing everything he undertook ; and no person could 
be more industrious and persevering in the accom- 



144 HISTORY OF BEV^ERLY. 

plishment of what had once been undertaken. His 
Hfe throughout was one of constant and wonderful 
dUigence. There was, too, an elevation in his aims, 
which betokened no common man : and possessing, 
as he did, a spirit and energy in executing, propor- 
tional to the capacity for conceiving them, it is not 
strange they were so admirably completed. He was, 
we must admit, signally favored in their completion 
by the health he enjoyed, having never before his 
last illness been confined to his house by sickness 
more than two days at a time, and that very rarely. 
He no doubt, did much to preserve his health, by 
regularity and temperance in diet, and by exercising 
every day in the open air. He took regular rather 
than a great deal of exercise, and that was walking 
chiefly. 

The qualities of his intellect were altogether of 
the solid kind. By his cast of mind, as well as by 
habit, he was inclined to the severer and graver 
studies. He had little acquaintance with the lighter 
branches of literature ; never read a novel before 
Scott began to publish, and his romances he read 
principally for their historical value ; though his 
reading became more various after he retired from 
the practice of law. His judgment was singularly 
discriminating and well-balanced. Few ever lived 
who were less biased by passion or prejudice. He 
was thus formed, on most contested points, to pur- 
sue a medium course, and to be a moderate man in 
any party with which he might be connected. For 
the same reason was he likely, more than most oth- 
ers, to be correct and stable in his opinions on all 
subjects. 

In the management of public affairs, he was cau- 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 145 

tious, firm, sagacious, and able ; and in conducting 
his private business, he exerted corresponding skill. 
It may be mentioned as confirming this last remark, 
that though he was long in the practice of loaning 
money to many different individuals, he never, in this 
way, incurred pecuniary loss. 

He was a truly upright man. To a female friend 
who, at the time he was preparing for his profession, 
rallied him with saying, "So, you mean to be an 
honest lawyer ^^^ he replied, " I mean to be an honest 
man." And his whole subsequent career attested 
the sincerity and strength of this early resolution. 

He possessed great goodness of heart. He was 
blessed with singular evenness of temperament, and 
was remarkably free from the indulgence of resent- 
ful or vindictive feelings. Instances might be named, 
of his returning liberal benefactions for ingratitude 
and injury. In domestic life, he was ever concilia- 
ting and kind to those with whom he was there con- 
nected. To the excellent partner of his life, to whom 
he was united for fifty-five years, and who survived 
him, he was a devoted husband. Without children of 
his own, he was as a father to many. Several of his 
relatives he assisted to a liberal education, and others 
he aided in establishing respectably in life. If a pru- 
dent economy reigned in his family, so also did a 
ready hospitality. Though his mind was habitually 
braced to severe thought and study, he was not with- 
out social feeling. Among his particular friends, he 
not seldom showed a high relish for humor and light- 
er conversation ; and he had a choice fund, with 
which at times he dehghted to entertain them, of 
anecdote and reminiscences respecting the sages and 
worthies, and the important scenes and transactions 
13 



146 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

with which, in his long and eventful life, he had 
been connected. As an instance of the interesting 
recollections which would thus occasionally drop 
from him, it may be mentioned that, not many 
months before his decease, he stated, in conversation, 
that it was not till the celebrated ordinance of '87 
was on the eve of its passage, that the thought oc- 
curred to him of inserting the clause by which sla- 
very was forever excluded from the states north of 
the Ohio ; thus presenting the striking reflection, that 
by the mere after-thought, as it were, of a single in- 
dividual, acting fifty years or little more ago, and 
then a young man and comparatively unknown, 
such mighty consequences should result to the mil- 
lions now living, and the many more millions to live, 
in that extensive and very fertile region. 

Mr. Dane was not a person of naturally quick sen- 
sibilities. So unvaryingly did his impulses obey his 
judgment, that one who did not know him well 
might sometimes have been induced to doubt their 
strength, and at least to suppose him more just than 
generous. But that he had strong attachments, not 
a few who were the objects of them will attest. That 
he was benevolent, his various bestowments, pub- 
lic and private, amply prove. For all objects that 
seemed to him good, he was interested. For his 
country he certainly had a sincere love. From early 
life to almost his latest moments, he watched nar- 
rowly its interests. By the fnithful performance of 
his duties as a legislator and statesman, he labored 
for it ; he did scarcely less by his writings. When 
our Union was threatened by the doctrines of nulli- 
fication, he looked with intense anxiety to the issue, 
and showed, by a pamphlet amounting to a consid- 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 147 

erable volume, which he prepared and pubUshed in 
his eightieth year, that he was then as wiUing to la- 
bor for his country's good as he had been in his me- 
ridian vigor. And even when confined to his cham- 
ber and bed, and up to the day of his death, he kept 
along with the course of public events, making fre- 
quent inquiries respecting them — inquiring particu- 
larly, and with evident solicitude, concerning the 
difficulties with France, which constituted, at that 
time, the most engrossing national topic. 

He was, moreover, a religious man and a Chris- 
tian. He believed in the divine origin of Christian- 
ity with a firm conviction, and after thorough exam- 
ination of its evidences. Few laymen have spent so 
much time in the study of theology. During more 
than fifty years, he had been in the habit of passing 
his sabbaths — excepting the hours of public worship, 
which he attended constantly — in theological pur- 
suits, which would make (as he computed it) 
between seven and eight years given expressly to 
the subject. He preserved his acquaintance with 
Greek to the last, and commonly read the New Tes- 
tament in its original language. Of the Hebrew he 
also had some knowledge, and sometimes referred to 
it in examining the Old Testament. He was well 
versed in biblical criticism, and understood well most 
of the theological controversies of the day. In his 
unpublished work, he has treated quite at large the 
subject of religion, so far as it is connected with and 
recognized in our constitutions of government. But 
he was not in theory only a Christian ; he was prac- 
tically devout and religious. There was found among 
his papers a prayer, whiqh he composed many years 
since for his own use ; and which would be found 



148 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

by all a valuable help to dev-otion. He was consci- 
entious in his attendance on the public institutions of 
religion, and to its ministers he proved himself, by 
his attentions, his counsel, and his substance, pecu- 
liarly a friend. The best evidence, however, of his 
being at heart a Christian, was his life ; that child- 
like purity, which was free equally from the contam- 
ination of gross or polished vice — that perfect sin- 
cerity, which scorned low intrigue and every form of 
deceit — that untiring diligence, with which he im~ 
proved his talents, and consecrated them to worthy, 
useful, and high ends. His death was serene, beau- 
tiful, and happy. Three months previously, he was 
seized with a paralytic affection. The shock came 
upon him in the midst of perfect health. But it was 
received without alarm, and in entire submission to 
the divine will. From that time his strength grad- 
ually decayed, and he gently sank away to rest. 
He retained to the last a delightfully composed cheer- 
fulness. He felt — and no one could more truly say — 
his work was done. Rarely has there been one that 
had proposed to himself so much, who lived to see 
his objects so fully accomplished. And if then, and 
even before, there was, as he reflected on his exer- 
tions and the success which had attended them, a 
complacency bordering on weakness, it was certainly 
a pardonable self-satisfaction. His reason never, for 
a moment during his illness, forsook him. He con- 
tinued, almost to the closing scene, to converse with 
his friends on such subjects of a general nature as 
had usually interested him, as well as on those re- 
lating immediately to his expected departure. Only 
a few hours before his death, he gave directions re- 
specting his burial, and with the same collectedness 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 149 

took leave of the relatives that surrounded his dying 
bed. He died Feb. 15, 1835. 

For consistency and integrity, a well-spent life 
and a peaceful death, it would be difficult to find his 
superior. Such a life and such a death are the best 
illustration of the reality and the value of virtue and 
religion. The example they contain may justly be 
held forth for imitation, not merely to those of the 
same profession, but to all young men, and to all of 
whatever age, who would secure the most desirable 
distinctions for themselves, and be the best benefac- 
tors of their country and race. 

A monument is erected over his grave, which is of 
pyramidal form, about ten feet in height, and com- 
posed of beautiful white marble, resting on a block 
of dressed granite. The inscription, written by Judge 
Story, is as follows : 

" In memory of the Hon. Nathan Dane, L.L.D. A revolution- 
ary statesman ; an eminent jurist ; the author of an Abridgment and 
Digest of American Law ; the founder of the Dane Professorship 
of Law in Harvard University. His private life was distinguished 
for simplicity, integrity and dignity ; his public life for wisdom, 
fidelity, and patriotism. He lived and died a Christian. He was 
born on the 27th of December, 1752. He died on the 15th of 
February, 1835. 

" His fame belongs to his country. Let the gratitude of future 
ages cherish it." 

On one side of the monument is the following in- 
scription, commemorative of his amiable and much- 
lamented wife. 



13^ 



150 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

" In memory of 

Polly, wife of Nathan Dane. 

Of singular purity, benevolence and piety ; 

An ornament and rich blessing to her 

Family, to the Church and to society ; 

And having through a long life been 

Faithful in all its relations, 

She expired in Christian faith and hope, 

April 14, 1840, aged 90 years. 

Hon. William Thorndike was born in Beverly, 
Jan. 1795. He early gave indications of genius and 
talents of a high order, of regard to the principles of 
morality, and of reverence for religion. His father, 
Capt. Nicolas Thorndike, for most of the early part 
of his life, was employed abroad ; and he, like many 
other great and good men, was mostly indebted to 
the tender care and instruction of a pious mother, 
for the formation of a character of virtue, of early 
piety, of kind and affectionate dispositions. This 
character, thus formed in childhood, was developed 
in his youth, and exemplified in manhood in all the 
various relations in which he was called to act. 

He was fitted for college under Dr. Benjamin 
Abbot, at Phillips Academy, in Exeter, and entered 
Harvard College in advanced standing. He was dis- 
tinguished by close attention to his studies, and by 
exemplary conduct, and graduated with distinction 
in 1813, at the age of 18. On leaving college, he 
studied law with the late Hon. Nathan Dane. In 
1816, he was admitted to the bar of Essex county, 
and soon commenced the practice of law, at Bath, 
Maine. On the 4th July, 1816, he pronounced an 
oration in Beverly, at a celebration of American 
independence. After he had become established in 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 151 

the business of his profession, at Bath, he was mar- 
ried to Miss Nancy Stephens, daughter of John Ste- 
phens, Esq., of Beverly. The happiness of this con- 
nexion, the result of esteem, friendship and love, 
formed in early youth and commenced with the 
most flattering prospects, was blasted by death. One 
short year separated this happy couple, and left the 
survivor bereft of both wife and her infant oifspring. 
This event, if not the cause, was soon followed by 
feeble health and depression of spirits, which occa- 
sioned the abandonment of his profession, when pros- 
perity and advancement were on the point of crown- 
ing his well-established reputation, as an advocate 
and counsellor. He then returned to the circle of 
his friends in his native town, and there engaged in 
commercial pursuits. Here his worth was well 
known, and his popularity was unrivalled. He was 
immediately placed in those public offices and employ- 
ments, which — happily for New England — are gen- 
erally bestowed on talents and worth, in her towns. 
Within a short period, he became a director of all 
the principal monied institutions in the place, and 
was elected to the offices of selectman, overseer of 
the poor, and one of the school committee ; in which 
last capacity, he devoted much time and labor to the 
improvement of the schools. He rightly appreciated 
the importance of this sphere, in which there is room 
for the occupation of the best talents, and for that 
persevering exertion which finds little reward other 
than the high consciousness of performing duties, 
the future consequences of which will be experienced 
in a glorious progress of society in knowledge and 
virtue. 
In 1826 and '27, he was a representative from 



152 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

Beverly, in the General Court. His retiring disposi- 
tion prevented his taking a conspicuous part in the 
debates of the House, or in its business ; but his 
sound judgment, purity of motive, and general intel- 
ligence, were laying the foundation for more exten- 
sive usefulness in the other branch of the legislature, 
la 1828, he was elected a senator for the county of 
Essex, and was re-elected in '29, '30, '31, and '32. 
In the last of these years he was elected president of 
the Senate. As a member of that body, he was in- 
defatigable in the performance of those labors which 
fall on its more industrious and active members, with 
greater weight, from the smallness of their number, 
compared with that of the House, and from the 
practice of investigating subjects of legislation by 
joint committees of both branches. On certain 
emergencies, he displayed in debate a spirit, elo- 
quence, and capacity, equal to the greatest occa- 
sions. His ease of manner and quickness of appre- 
hension were peculiarly adapted to the duties of a 
presiding officer. While president of the Senate, his 
wisdom, impartiality, decision and firmness, secured 
the confidence of all concerned in its transactions. 
In the spring of 1832, he was elected president of 
the National Insurance Company, and afterward, of 
the Hamilton Bank, located in Boston. These offices 
came to him unsolicited and were accepted with re- 
luctance — particularly at leaving his friends and va- 
rious avocations in his native town for a residence 
in the city ; and they were entered on with the un- 
derstanding, that he might resign them at the expi- 
ration of a period, the larger part of which had 
passed at the time of his decease. 

In his relation to the first parish and church in 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 153 

Beverly, his services will always be remembered 
with gratitude. For several years he superintended 
the first parish sunday-school, and with great suc- 
cess. He was at the same time superintendent of 
that school, and president of the Massachusetts Sen- 
ate; and the spectacle was at once beautiful and 
touching, of the same individual admirably dis- 
charging and gracing those so different stations. 

His chief aim in conducting the sunday-school, 
was to make it, to teachers and scholars alike, a 
scene of mutual improvement and satisfaction. Dis- 
carding the principle of emulation, which had previ- 
ously been resorted to here— as it is even now else- 
where— he sought (as he said in a report on this sub- 
ject,) "to secure the attention of the scholars to the 
duties required of them, by engaging their affections, 
and offering as a reward for faithfulness, not the rec- 
ord of their good deeds, or the tempting allurements 
of gifts, but the smiles of a kind and endeared in- 
structer, and the satisfaction of an approving con- 
science, — feeling anxious that purer motives should 
stimulate the mind and swell the heart, than those 
which proceed from the promise of pecuniary re- 
wards, or the display of acquisitions, the only value 
of which is in their secret influence, and the tone 
they give to character and principle." 

He was eminently a religious man. His faith was 
enlightened and liberal, as well as earnest and firm. 
He stood on the great principle of the entire inde- 
pendence of the mind of all human authority in the 
grand concerns of religion. His sympathy and fel- 
lowship were not with those who merely interpreted 
scripture as he did, but with those who, believing 
in divine revelation with sincerity, conformed their 



154 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

hearts and lives to its precepts, as understood by them. 
What he most desired for himself, and delighted most 
to see in others, was unswerving deference to moral 
and religious principle ; and it was the possession 
of this which imparted a crowning lustre to the sim- 
ple dignity, the genuine independence, the amiable 
temper, and earnest spirit, which marked both his 
public and private life. In the midst of all this 
worth and usefulness, having acquired a prominence 
in the public regards rarely attained by one no farther 
advanced in years, and when deservedly esteemed 
one of the most valuable and promising characters, 
of which not only his native town but the Common- 
wealth could boast, — consumption, that widely fatal 
disease, before which so large a portion of our race 
falls — fastened upon him; and after lingering for 
some months, he expired, July 12th, 1835, in the 41st 
year of his age. It is not extravagant eulogy to say 
of him, that he was one whom all might wish to 
resemble, and lament to lose. Though the verdure 
of seven summers has come and faded on his grave, 
there are memories of him, deep and many, in the 
heart of this community, which have not and cannot 
fade. His manly form, his features beaming intelli- 
gence and sensibihty, his benignant smile, his unas- 
suming yet engaging manners, and above all, his 
talents and virtues, the good he did and the greater 
good he would — had he lived — have done, altogether 
constitute an image delightful to cherish, and that 
will not soon pass away. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 155 



PHYSICIANS. 



The practising physicians, resident in this town 
since 1677, so far as ascertained, are Samuel Hardie, 
Robert Hale, Robert Hale, Jr., John Herrick, Benja- 
min Jones, Israel Woodberry, Isaac Spofford, Larkin 
Thorndike, Joseph Orne, Nathan Lakeman, Barnard 
Tucker, Elisha Whitney, Joshua Fisher, Abner 
Howe, Josiah Batchelder, Ingalls Kittredge, Wyatt 
C. Boyden, Ingalls Kittredge, Jr., Augustus Torrey, 
Joseph Torrey, and Edward Brad street. The six 
last-named are now in practice here. Of Drs. Har- 
die and Robert Hale, Jr., mention has been made 
elsewhere. 

Robert Hale, son of Rev. John Hale, was born 
November 3d, 1668. He received his education at 
Harvard College, where he graduated in 1686, in 
the 18th year of his age, and in 1690 became a mem- 
ber of his father's church. His attention was early 
turned to divinity, the study of which he pursued 
with a view of entering the ministry. In this design 
he received encouragement from an uncle residing in 
England, who left him a legacy in 1691. Daring 
his father's absence as chaplain, in the Canada expe- 
dition of 1690, he supplied the pulpit ; bat the state 
of his health compelling him to relinquish " that best 
of employments," as he styles the clerical profession, 
he engaged in the practice of medicine, in which he 
continued until his decease in 1719, aged 51 years. 

In 1693, Mr. Hale appears to have suffered much 
from physical debility. In a letter to his father, dated 
" Preston, 22d5 11th," in which there is a mingled 



156 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

Strain of despondency and christian resignation, he 
says: "I find myself heir to my mother's distem- 
pers ; would to God I might of her graces." At his 
mother's decease he came in possession of a property 
in Sarum, England, which was managed for him 
several years by Bennett Swayne, Jr., of London. 
In 1701, he succeeded Dr. Hardie as master of the 
grammar-school, and subsequently was a selectman, 
justice of the peace, and a representative to the Gen- 
eral Court.^ His widow was married in 1720 to 
Col. John Gilman, of Exeter, N. H. The latter part 
of her life was spent in this town, in which she died. 
Mr. Hale had two sons and a daughter ; Robert, 
Henry, and Rebecca. 

Dr. Herrick was a practitioner here in 1721. 

Dr. Jones was a native of this town. He had an 
extensive practice, and was highly respected. He 
was a member of the second church, is frequently 
mentioned in the parish records, and appears to have 
taken an active interest in its affairs. He died about 
1778. His first wife was Ginger Leach, and his 
second Sarah Endicolt, of Dan vers, who died in 
1797, aged 78. 

Dr. Woodberry, son of Samuel Woodberry, was 
born in Beverly, March, 1734, and pursued his med- 
ical studies with Dr. Putnam, of Danvers. He mar- 

* Copies of several letters, written by Mr. Hale to his relatives in 
England, and also to his agents in London, are in the archives of the 
Antiquarian Society, at "Worcester. They contain no local informa- 
tion, and relate chiefly to matters in which the public would not feel 
interested. 



HIrfTORY OF BEVERLY. 157 

ried Lucy, daughter of Benjamin Herrick, by whom 
he had two daughters, Hannah and Lucy. He suc- 
ceeded Dr. Jones in business, and practised to some 
extent in the neighboring towns. He was a member 
of the second church, and his Hfe appears to have 
been that of an exemplary Christian. Shortly be- 
fore his decease, which occurred in 1797, at the age 
of 83, he remarked, " If I were to hve my hfe over 
again, I could not serve mankind more faithfully 
than I have done." 

Dr. Spofford came to this town from Rowley, and 
married for his second wife Ruth, the second daugh- 
ter of Col. Larkin Thorndike. He was reputed skil- 
ful in his profession, and was also much devoted to 
music. He died June 14th, 1786, aged 35. His re- 
mains lie in the first burying-ground. His grave- 
stone bears masonic emblems, above which is the 
following inscription : " Orphani Yiduge Musse Med- 
icinaque Lugent." Beneath the date of his decease 
is the following : " Candidus insuetum miratur limen 
Olimpi subpedibusque videt nubes et fideraDaphnis." 

Dr. Thorndike, son of Col. Larkin Thorndike, was 
born in this town, and graduated at Harvard Col- 
lege in 1782. During the difficulties with France, 
under the administration of the elder Adams, he en- 
tered the navy as surgeon, on board the sloop of war 
Herald, from which he was transferred to the Con- 
gress frigate. He died at Norfolk, Va., in 1798. 

Dr. Lakeman came to this town from Hamilton, 
but did not live long to pursue his profession. 
14 



158 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

Dr. Tucker was born in Newbury, of which town 
his father was clergyman. He graduated at Cam- 
bridge in 1779, and practised here several years. He 
subsequently removed to Wenham, and thence to his 
native place. He possessed a kind heart, and is re- 
membered for gentleness of disposition and simplicity 
of manners. He was a proficient in the French and 
Spanish languages, and was much employed as an 
instructer in the former. 

Dr. Orne was born in Salem, in 1749. In his 
childhood he was remarkable for the precocity of his 
understanding. At the age of twelve years he en- 
tered Harvard University, where he received the de- 
gree of A. B. in 1765. He began his medical studies 
under the direction of Dr. E. A. Holyoke. In 1770, 
he removed to Beverly and established himself in 
medical practice, with a fair reputation and increas- 
ing fame. In 1777, he returned to Salem, under 
auspicious circumstances, where he continued till his 
death. He possessed a sound and discriminating 
judgment. His ardor for the improvement of medi- 
cine, and in enriching his own mind with scientific 
knowledge, was evinced by his importing from Eu- 
rope the most recent valuable publications, and dedi- 
cating all his leisure to the investigation of new sub- 
jects. Dr. O. possessed not only a taste for poetry, 
painting, and the belles lettres, but also for natural 
philosophy ; and had his short sojourn in life been 
protracted, his talents would probably have been de- 
voted to the most useful purposes. But insatiate con- 
sumption seized him as its victim, and terminated 
his earthly career July 28, 1786, in the 37th year of 
his age. Several of his papers have appeared in the 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 159 

Massachusetts Medical Communications. He was 
one of the original members of the American Acad- 
emy of Science.^ 

Dr. Elisha Whitney was born in Watertown, 
March 11th, 1747, old style, and graduated at Har- 
vard Cohege in 1766. He pursued his medical studies 
with Dr. Russell, of Groton, and commenced prac- 
tice in Ipswich, Mass. He made several voyages as 
surgeon on board privateers commanded by Captains 
Giles and Hill. The first exercise of his surgical 
skill was in the amputation of Capt. G's leg-^ and 
Capt. H., as a mark of esteem, presented him with a 
chaise manufactured for the governor of Barbadoes, 
found on board a prize. While resident in Ipswich. 
Dr. W. volunteered in the regiment commanded by 
Col. Wade, which marched to suppress Shays' re- 
bellion. He married Miss Eunice Farley, of Ips- 
wich, by whom he had ten children, viz : Elisha, 
Michael (who died in infancy), Elizabeth, Susan, 
Michael, Dorothy, Lucy, Israel (who died young), 
Israel and Lucy Ann. 

In 1792, Dr. Whitney removed to Beverly, where 
for fifteen years he pursued a laborious and exten- 
sive practice. His social nature drew around him a 
numerous circle of friends, while the kindness of his 
address relieved the timid and humble of the re- 
straints imposed by stately reserve. No physician 
was more welcome in the chamber of sickness, as no 
one better understood the importance of cheerfulness 
in combating disease. He always Iiad a word in 
season, and possessed a happy faculty of saying the 

* See " Thacher's Bledical Biography." •' The Massachusetts 
Gazette" for Feb. 6, 1786. 



160 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

best thing in the best way. The elasticity of his 
spirits imparted to his conversation an influence em- 
inently calculated to dissipate the gloom incident to 
protracted illness, and the hopefulness of his tone 
inspired his patients with a confidence scarcely less 
serviceable than medical prescriptions. His benevo- 
lence, of which the poor, in his practice, enjoyed a 
large share, and his professional skill, gave him a 
deserved popularity; and his decease, which occurred 
Feb. 22, 1807, at the age of GO, was universally la- 
mented. 

Dr. Joshua Fisher was born in Dedham, May, 
1749. His ancestors were respected and wealthy 
farmers. He was second cousin to Fisher Ames. He 
graduated at Harvard College in 1766, at the age of 
17. His parents designed him for the ministry ; but 
after teaching a school in Rowley for two years, he 
was seized with disease of the lungs, which led him 
to relinquish this purpose, and in 1770 he began the 
study of medicine under the direction of Dr. Lincoln, 
of Hingham, brother of Gen. Lincoln, He always 
spoke of his preceptor as a man of rare talent, and 
much in advance of his profession. He practised for 
a time in Ipswich and then in Salem, but soon remov- 
ed to Beverly, where he passed the remainder of his 
life. The times in which Dr. Fisher entered on his 
professional career possessed extraordinary interest. 
The great question of the future government of the 
country had begun deeply to agitate the whole land. 
It addressed itself to every individual, and profound 
interest Avas felt by each and all in the decision. It 
was this fact in the history of the revolution, which 
gave to it character and ultimate success. Dr. Fisher 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 161 

was not insensible to the patriotic spirit which then 
prevailed ; and we find him leaving the qniet of vil- 
lage practice and entering a private armed vessel as 
surgeon. He sailed from Marblehead: a valuable 
prize was captured and sent into Salem. We next 
find him in the British channel, where, after cruising 
some time, the vessel was surrounded by English 
ships of war. Escape being impossible, the privateer 
was run ashore, those on board hoping to secrete 
themselves on land. They Avere, however, soon dis- 
covered and pursued, and all but Dr. Fisher secured 
as prisoners. He was seized by two strong men ; 
but suddenly, with a desperate effort, he threw them 
to the ground and escaped. Through a series of 
most perilous and romantic adventures, in which he 
displayed great adroitness and energy, he made his 
way over a considerable part of England, and finally 
got to France, where he entered another privateer. 
After a successful cruise in this, he took passage in a 
letter of marque for Boston, and arrived there after 
a most dangerous voyage. His public andenterpriz- 
ing spirit next led him to take an active part in 
establishing a cotton factory, which was situated in 
Upper Beverly, and of which he was superintendent. 
This project, the first of the kind in New England, 
was unsuccessful, and after much loss was abandon- 
ed. He therefore early returned to his practice as a 
physician. The professional character of Dr. Fisher 
presents points of great interest. He was largely 
gifted with those moral and intellectual qualities 
which give honor and usefulness to the medical pro- 
fession. He brought to every case his whole mind. 
He possessed extraordinary powers of observation 
and reflection, and seized with wonderful tact on 
14* 



162 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

what was most worthy of consideration. He em- 
ployed but few remedies, and those were selected 
from the most powerful. His treatment of inflamma- 
tion, whether of the serous, mucous, or other tissues, 
differed from that of many of his brethren. He 
rarely or never bled, but attempted to relieve pain 
by opium; and then by large quantities of calomel 
to subdue the morbid processes on which the exist- 
ence of the disease depended. " When driving a 
nail, (he would say) why strike it a timid and use- 
less blow ? Nothing is to be gained by that : use at 
once the force required, and the object is accomplish- 
ed." Such was the kind and the illustration of his 
practice. The independence and originality discovered 
in it, belonged to his mind after a manner which dis- 
tinguished all he did. He could not be seduced by 
the mere pretension of novelty from what he had 
ascertained to be true in principle and correct in 
practice ; and his respect for authority never so far 
blinded him as to disturb his confidence in what, as 
he believed, his own sound and accurate observation 
had established. 

Dr. Fisher was, from native constitution and habit, 
a retiring man. But this was true only of his inter- 
course with the many : with the few he was unre- 
served. He was singularly acute in discerning char- 
acter ; and he delighted in studying it. It was the 
individual case which had to him the greatest inter- 
est in his study of disease, and the same was true of 
his intercourse with men ; he loved to study the 
individual. He took great pleasure in receiving from 
those with whom he thus familiarly associated all 
they could impart, and he communicated in turn 
what the occasion required, being always anxious to 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 163 

be useful. It was natural, therefore, that he should 
be regarded ever as the agreeable and instructive 
companion. Few, more than he, have exerted a more 
powerful and enduring influence on individual minds. 
He was truly honored and beloved by his patients. 
His reputation was great ; and this brought him 
forward as a consulting physician over a wide cir- 
cuit. A moral and intellectual quality of his char- 
acter, which is especially remembered by those who 
best knew him, is purit)^ — purity of mind and heart. 
This it was that gave to his intellectual nature its 
greatest beauty, power and attractiveness. It con- 
stituted the tone of his mind — it was the atmosphere 
ill which it expanded, and by which it was invigo- 
rated. It caused him to shrink with horror from 
moral taint, and to love the good wherever it existed. 
While it made him most sensible to vice, his native 
kindliness led him to pity what he could not but 
condemn. The moral dignity of such a character, 
if we may not attain to, we may love; and so difl'u- 
sive is it, that the mere contemplation of it must 
make the observer better. Such a mind was admi- 
rably fitted for the study of nature, and few have 
felt a deeper interest in natural history. His strong 
powers of comparing, observing and remembering, 
singularly qualified him for pursuing this branch of 
science ; and he devoted himself to it whenever and 
wherever opportunity offered. He had a genuine 
love of nature. He felt its beauty in its truth 
and whole amount, and derived perpetual pleasure 
from the perception of it. Had his means originally 
allowed his so doing, he would have chosen natural 
science as his profession, and his success would have 
been great. A standing testimony of his zeal in this 



164 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

cause is furnished by his munificent endowment of 
the Fisher Professorship of Natural History in Har- 
vord University, to which by his will he gave 
$20,000. He has, in a sense, thus perpetuated his 
own mind among us. He has at least provided the 
means by which one of his most cherished objects 
shall be perpetually promoted. 

He was twice married, and was highly favored in 
both connexions — having been thus united to two 
most amiable and excellent women. Without chil- 
dren of his own, he was yet surrounded by those 
whom he regarded as such, and who, with not less 
than filial affection, contributed to the happiness of 
his advancing years. His home was the abode of 
true hospitality ; and it was there he found most 
constant and pure enjoyment, as well as the retire- 
ment congenial to his inclinations. But though he 
shrunk from general society, he never did from pub- 
lic duty. He was in an important sense a public 
man. He took an active part in politics, and was 
the intimate associate and friend of George Cabot. 
His connexion with Fisher Ames, and the har- 
mony of their political views, established similar re- 
lations between them. It were sufficient praise to 
have been the associate and friend of these two of 
the most honored men of our State. He sustained 
important public offices. He was president of the 
Massachusetts Medical Society, a senator of the Com- 
monwealth, and president of the Beverly Bank and 
the Beverly Charitable Society. He was the project- 
or of the latter ; and having largely added to its 
funds during his life, left it a munificent bequest in 
his will. Connected with his donation at its com- 
mencement, was this peculiar condition — that $100 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 165 

of it should be set aside to accumulate (in the shape 
of loans, on undoubted security, to deserving young 
men — or at least, preference being given to such) for 
a hundred years, when it would amount, in available 
funds for the society, to many thousands of dollars. 
He was a very liberal benefactor, in his lifetime and 
by bequest, to other public objects — particularly the 
first parish in Beverly, and the west parish in Ded- 
ham — his native parish. The whole amount of his 
legacies to such objects was upwards of $30,000. 

He retained his intellectual energy remarkably to 
the close of life, — though, for many of his latter years, 
he withdrew from general practice. He loved knowl- 
edge from his youth, and beloved it to the last. His 
interest continued unabated in all the true sources of 
information, and of intellectual and moral gratifica- 
tion. He kept pace Avith the current literature, and 
took constant interest and pleasure in it to the latest 
period of his long life. But he was not unobservant 
of the effect of time on some of his faculties — mem- 
ory in particular. How strange is this power of the 
human intellect, looking on its own faculties as its 
instruments, and discovering at once, with a distinct- 
ness none else can, where the machinery is wearing 
away, while it feels how powerless it is to repair it. 
There are few things more interesting in the contem- 
templation of a really vigorous mind, than this sin- 
gle fact. Such a mind was Dr. Fishers. This was 
acknowledged by all who came v/ithin its reach, and 
could apprehend its power. His affections were 
strong. His moral faculties were vigorous and in 
continual exercise. His religious sentiment was 
pure and elevated and enhghtened. He looked on 
death as '' an event in life" — the appointment of a 



166 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

perfect Father, as were all other events ; and he sub- 
mitted to it humbly, but with a bright hope and full 
trust. 

He died in Beverly, on the 15th of March, 1833, 
at the advanced age of 84. 

Dr. Abner Howe was born in JafFrey, N. H. in 
1781. His father was an eminent and much-re- 
spected physician of that place. He graduated at 
Dartmouth College in 1801. Having an early pre- 
dilection for the medical profession, he devoted him- 
self with ardor to its study, under the distinguished 
Professor Smith, at Dartmouth. He also, for sev- 
eral months, attended the hospitals of Philadelphia, 
and the lectures for which that city was then, as it 
is now, noted, — enjoying, at the same time, the pri- 
vate instruction of the celebrated Dr. Rush. He 
commenced practice in his native town, as a surgeon 
and consulting physician, but soon removed to Bev- 
erly, where he passed the remainder of his life, and 
died, after a gradual decline, Blay ^5, 1826, leaving 
behind him the well-earned reputation of an enlight- 
ened, devoted, successful physician, an upright and 
useful citizen, and a true Christian. " This excel- 
lent physician (says the author of the Memoir re- 
ferred to below,^ than whom none knew him better) 
was removed from life at the meridian, in the full 
vigor of his powers, enriched by the experience of 
twenty years of successful practice, endeared to the 
community, and a blessing above estimation to a 
young and numerous family. To amiable vievv^s of 



* Memoir of Dr. Abner Howe, by Rev. Dr. Abbot, published in 
the Christian Visitant, vol. 1, No. 5, pp. 201—215. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 167 

religion, his life was happily conformed. He was an 
humble and devotional man at home, as well as in 
the house of God. He was the kindest of husbands 
and best of fathers. But his well-principled and en- 
lightened mind was not confined to personal and do- 
mestic views ; his notion of charity was much more 
expansive. In the best sense of the word, and ac- 
cording to his means and opportunities, he was a 
public man. He sought to advance the general in- 
terest by promoting the peace of the town, and chris- 
tian affection among the churches, by a word spoken 
in season to soften prejudices and to rectify mis- 
understandings. For this christian office his oppor- 
tunities were great, and they were discreetly im- 
proved. Dr. Howe felt a lively interest in the young. 
Amid his pressing professional duties, he secured 
time to watch over the schools, to give encourage- 
ment to the teachers, and his affectionate countenance 
to the youth, — his best advice to improve the plans 
of education, and when necessary, his liberal contri- 
bution. He was a friend of charitable institutions, 
whether for the relief of the indigent, or the promo- 
tion of christian knowledge and piety ; and in sev- 
eral of them he gave his time and attention, as an 
officer, to advance their funds and extend their influ- 
ence. In his professional course, his charity w^as 
most remarkable. Here, he was the poor man's 
friend ; in numerous cases giving attendance and 
medicine to the sick, and often relief to the distressed 
family, without the hope of earthly reward. No 
man was ever distressed or made uneasy by his 
claims upon him. His brief and fleeting life passed 
without any of those remarkable incidents which tell 
in story. Without special pretensions to genius or 



168 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

Striking talents, without being known to fame in a 
wide circle, the very respectable powers of his prac- 
tical mind were cultivated with great care, and in- 
tensely applied in his immediate sphere. In that 
sphere, the effect was admirable. To be a good and 
useful man was his chastened and holy ambition, 
and to a high degree it was gratified. He was 
warmly esteemed as an enlightened and faithful, a 
humane and pious physician. As the sweet odor of 
precious ointment poured forth, his name will be long 
cherished." 



MILITARY. 



Military defence was early found necessary in this 
town, both against savage and other foes, thougli 
the peaceful terms on which the Naumkeag territory 
was obtained, and the honorable manner in which 
the claims subsequently set up by the heirs of the 
Sagamore of Agawam, were liquidated, secured this 
place from the Indian depredations which many 
other New England settlements suffered. In 1662, 
there was a " foot company " in Beverly, command- 
ed by Capt. Thomas Lothrop. 

After his death the General Court appointed Mr. 
John Hathorne of Salem, to the command. The 
appointment was strongly objected to by the citizens 
of this town, and a petition was immediately for- 
warded to ''the much honored General Court," 
praying for the substitution of a nomination made 
by themselves. The petitioners say, " though the 
gentleman may be worthy to lead a far more honor- 



HISTOHY OF BEVERLY. 169 

able company than ours, yet in regard of his dis- 
tance of place, and as great an inconvenience of the 
ferry, he is wholly in a manner iincapable to be ser- 
viceable unto us, especially in times of war, either 
by impressing soldiers, ordering us in arms, regulat- 
ing our trainings, especially upon disappointments 
of v/eather, or appointing times of meeting ; where- 
fore our humble request is, that your honors will be 
pleased to settle our whole militia witliin our town." 
The prayer of the petitioners was granted, and 
Lieut. William Dixy received the appointment of 
captain. In 1689, he was succeeded in command 
by Paul Thorndike.^ 

Previous to 1689, a company of horse was orga- 
nized in this town, of which William Rayment, sen. 
was captain, William Dodge lieutenant, John Dodge 
jr. cornet, Thomas West quartermaster. In 1690, 
for reasons not apparent, the General Court medi- 
tated the disbanding of this association, and merging 
its members in the "foot company." Against this 
procedure the cavalry strongly remonstrated. They 
declared, " First, we are already provided for and 
fitted with furniture and arms, fit for the service of 
a troop. Secondly, we are and have been always 
trained up in the exercise of a troop. Thirdly, our 
inability at the present to serve the country in any 
other way of service besides what belongs to a 
troop. We are unfit in respect of arms and prac- 
tice." They concluded by saying that if their pe- 
tition to remain in their existing organization is 
granted, they will " with all readiness and willing- 
ness serve God and the country to the utmost abiii- 

* Provincial Records. 
15 



170 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

ty." The Court, after considering the subject, con- 
sented to their request provided they made up "a 
number of forty able-bodied troopers," furnished and 
equipped according to law, within a specified time. 
The terms were eagerly assented to, and two days 
before the expiration of the term, a list embracing 
the requisite number was forwarded, and an accom- 
panying nomijiatiQU of officers confirmed. =^ 

In 1641, all the companies in Essex county con- 
stituted a single regiment. In 1680, this regiment 
was divided, and a second formed, comprising the 
companies in Beverly, Salem, Marblehead, Wenham, 
Ipswich, Gloucester and Lynn. A new organiza- 
tion of the military within the bounds of these regi- 
ments took place in 1690, when three regiments 
were formed, one of which consisted of the compa- 
nies in Beverly, Salem, Marblehead, Lynn and 
Manchester. In 1723, the Beverly companies were 
attached to the Salem regiment, and afterwards 
were enrolled in the Danvers regiment. They were 
subsequently united with the Manchester companies, 
and formed the Beverly regiment, of which John 
Francis was the first colonel. This regiment was 
disbanded in 1831, and two companies of infantry, 
with the light infantry, were attached to the first 
regiment, composed of four companies from Marble- 
head and six from Salem. In 1834, the volunteer 
companies were taken from this regiment, and the 
sixth regiment of light infantry formed from Bev- 
erly, Salem, Marblehead, Lynn, Danvers, Manches- 
ter and Rockport. 

At what time more than one foot company was 

* Provincial Records. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 171 

formed in this town is unknown, but in 1775 men- 
tion is made, in the records, of three. These compa- 
nies met for miUtary parade at the first and second 
parish meeting-houses, and at the Cove. 

After the revohitionary war broke out, an inde- 
pendent company of grenadiers was raised, con- 
sisting of the tallest men in town. It was com- 
manded by Henry Herrick, son of Col. Henry Her- 
rick, and marched to Rhode Island to reinforce the 
troops there. At what time it was disbanded is not 
known. 

After the peace of 1783, the military declined, but 
revived again before the war of 1812. During this 
last contest with Great Britain, a volunteer company 
of artillery was formed, under the command of 
Capt. Nicholas Thorndike, and the militia were kept 
in constant readiness for service. 

The first light infantry company commenced by a 
voluntary association of individuals, at a meeting 
held October 17th, 1800, but was not established by 
law until June 2d, 1801, when, under an order from 
Lt. Col. James Burnham of the third regiment, they 
were regularly enlisted. On the 15th of the same 
month, a meeting was held for the choice of ofiicers. 
Jonathan H. Lovett was chosen captain, Josiah 
Gould lieutenant, and Robert Rantoul ensign. Mr. 
Goald declined, and at a subsequent meeting Mr. 
Rantoul was chosen in his stead. The vacancy 
made by this promotion Avas filled by the choice of 
Samuel Stickney for ensign. Capt. Lovett having 
been chosen major, Mr. Rantoul was chosen captain 
and Timothy Wyer lieutenant. In 1809, Captain 
Rantoul was discharged by his own request. His 
successor was T. Wyer, who was succeeded by Rob- 



172 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

ert Tuck. On the fourth of July, 1807, an elegant 
standard was presented to this company by the 
ladies of Beverly. The ceremony of presentation 
v/as performed by Miss Susan Whitney, accompan- 
ied Avith an appropriate address. The colors were 
received by Ensign Stickney, who made a brief and 
pertinent reply. The company was finally disbanded. 

The present light infantry company was organized 
about 1S1.5. The first commander was Wilham 
Thorndike. His successors have been Cotton Ben- 
nett, Samuel P. Lovett, Stephen Nourse, Charles 
Stevens, and Josiah Woodberry. On the 23d Sep- 
tember, 1836, the company paraded in an entire new 
luiiform, under the command of Capt. Charles Ste- 
vens, accompanied by the Boston Brass Band, on 
which occasion a beautiful standard was presented 
them by Miss B. L. Chapman, in the name of the 
ladies of Beverly. This company holds a high rank 
as a well-disciplined and efficient corps. 

From the close of the revolutionary war until 
quite recently, an organized and well- disciplined 
militia has been considered vitally important to the 
safety of the State; and within twenty years, " May 
training," and the autumnal regimental or brigade 
muster, was anticipated by young and old with an 
interest surpassed only, if at all, by that felt in 
"election" and "thanksgiving" days. On these occa- 
sions the people poured in from adjacent towns to 
witness the pageant, and the "tented field" dis- 
played a heterogeneous collection of omnivorous be- 
ings, biped and quadruped. Here were sires leaning 
on the stafi" of age, and youths alarming the timid 
with the mimic musketry of " India crackers," or 
imitating their elders in copious potations of punch 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 173 

and "egg pop." Here were modest swains paying 
faithful devoir to bashful maidens, " flaunting in 
silks," or decked in habiliments of rainbow hue; 
and there groups of urchins, exchanging their silver 
and copper for the merchandize of venders of ginger- 
bread and candied sweets. Here, the athletic ex- 
hibited their skill in "wrestling;" and there, "the 
ring" was formed for the mysteries of "pawpaw," 
" hustling," " wheel of fortune," and other forms of 
popular gaming. The " nodding plume," the " flash- 
ing sword," and " bristling bayonet," were gazed 
upon by the young with unsuppressed admiration, 
while the shrill fife and rattling drum rekindled in 
the breasts of revolutionary patriarchs the fire of 
" times that tried men's souls ;" and seated in the 
" booth," or beneath a friendly shade, they recounted 
for the hundredth time the deeds of daring at Tren- 
ton, Yorktown and Stony Point, and with the vigor 
of former days, " fought all their battles o'er again." 
But this " right arm of defence" was not without 
its enemies. With such, the Washingtonian doc- 
trine of preparing for war in time of peace had be- 
come obsolete, and the whole system was assailed at 
every vulnerable point. To frequent and disastrous 
legislation was united the powerful auxiliary of ridi- 
cule. The burlesque regimental review at Philadel- 
phia, under the redoubtable Col. Pluck, was the sig- 
nal for similar fantastical parades throughout the 
country. Before the omnipotence of ridicule the 
system could not stand. The glory departed ; sub- 
ordination ceased, resignation of ofiicers multiplied, 
a rapid decline followed, and in 1840 the militia 
organization of this State expired, leaving the guar- 
dianship of public safety to the volunteer companies. 
15=^ 



174 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 



SOLDIERS. 

From the settlement of Beverly until the close of 
the revolutionary war. there was hardly an expedi- 
tion against the Indians or French, or a battle of any 
moment, in which the town was not represented. 
The following list of soldiers, in addition to the 
names mentioned elsewhere, has been compHed with 
great labor from the muster-rolls in the State ar- 
chives, orderly books, and other sources, though it 
probably presents but a part of the number actually 
engaged in service. 

1676. In a company stationed at Wells, on the 
eastern frontier, under the command of Capt. Frost, 
John Ellin gwood, Thomas Parlor and Samuel Col- 
lins. El ling wood was wounded, having the fore-fin- 
ger of the right hand shot away ; in consideration of 
which the General Court granted him, in I'OO-l, £5 
for his present relief, and £3 per annum diiing life. 

1696. In Capt. John Hill's company, ai fort St. 
Mary, near Saco, John Burt, Benjamin Car rill, John 
Pickworth, and Israel Wood. 

1756. Enlisted in Capt. Andrew Fuller :■ compa- 
ny, for the Crown Point expedition, Benjanei Balch, 
William Eborn, Daniel Gloyd, Corp. John Simonds, 
William Moneys, Azor Roundy, Joseph Baker, Elie- 
zer Ellingwood, John Clark, Peter Stoke?, Daniel 
Butman, (enlisted again in 1759,) Robert Matthews, 
George Spence, (enlisted again in 1759 end 1761.) 
Andrew Woodberry. 

1757. In Capt. Israel Herrick's company of East- 
ern Rangers, Osman Baker, Bartholomew Peart, John 
Simonds, John Trask, (enlisted again 175S,) Josiah 
Trow, Robert Baker (Canada expedition, 1759). 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 175 

1758. Ill Capt. John Tapley's company, Wells 
Standley, William Herrick, Bartholomew Taylor, 
John Clark (at the capture of fort William Henry). 

In various other companies. 1756. Moses Dodge 
(at fort Edward). 1758. John Smith, Samuel Tuck, 
Jonathan Thorndike, Samuel Woodberry, Josiah 
Woodberry, James Woodberry, Jonathan Corning, 
(seamau,) Zebulon Bulman, David Hill, (drummer,) 
Jonathan Dodge, Nathaniel Woodberry, John Hub- 
bard, Abraham Hix, (enlisted again in 1761,) Wil- 
liam Dodge (again in 1761). 1759. Robert Elliot, 
James Giles, Jonathan Larcom, Corp. Andrew Yv^ood- 
berry, Benjamin Brown, William Presson, Richard 
Standley, John Wallis, Barebeel Woodberry, Samuel 
Bean, Josiah Creesy, Aaron Crowell, Andrew Elliot, 
Amos Hilton, WiUiam Morgan, Robert Pickett, Nich- 
olas Standley. 1761. Benjamin Presson, Ralph Tuck, 
Wilks West, Robert Standley, Joseph AVilliams, Ben- 
jamin Dike, Jonathan Dodge, Timothy Howard, Ja- 
cob Poland, Nathaniel Butman, Samuel Stickney. 

A roll of the officers and soldiers of a company 
enlisted in Beverly, for the expedition against Louis- 
burg, 1744. 

Benjamin Ives, jr. captain ; George Herrick lieu- 
tenant. Josiah Bachelder ensign. Job Cressy and 
Samuel Woodberry, sergeants ; Benjamin Cleaves, 
jr. clerk, Barth. Brown and John Picket, corporals ; 
Joseph Raymond, drummer. Privates : Benjamin 
Smith, Benjamin Clark, Samuel Harris, John Roun- 
dy, Israel Byles, Elias Picket, Ebenezer Cox, Jona- 
than Byles, Andrew Herrick, Benjamin Hervey, 
Samuel Cole, Richard Ober, Thomas Butman, Wil- 
liam James, Jonathan Harris, Edmund Clark, John 
Grover, John Morgan, Eleazer Giles, Ezra Trask, 



176 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

John Presson, Francis Elliot, Benjamin Dike, Sam- 
uel Stone, Israel Ellwell, Israel Woodberry, Josiah 
Woodberry, Jonathan Morgan, Joshua Rea, William 
Badcock, Benjamin Trask, Edward Cox, James 
Trask, Joseph Elliott, William Leach, Benjamin 
Howard, Christopher Bartlett, Ebenezer Hadley, 
Daniel Stephens, Caleb Page, Samuel Chute. To- 
tal 50. 

The following is a list of the privates in Capt. 
Moses Brown's company, raised in this town for the 
war of the revolution, August, 1776. 

Richard Ober, Jonathan Harris, Freeborn Thorn- 
dike, Jonathan Foster, Samuel Stone, William 
Crowther, Cornelius Woodberry, Luke Woodberry, 
Andrew Woodberry, John Cressy, Amos Cressy, 
Robert Lovett, Thomas Parker, Bartholomew Smith, 
Mihill Woodberry, Thomas Cox, Nathan Batchel- 
der, Nathaniel Ober, Joseph Ober, James Ober, 
William Cook, Abner Stone, Benjamin Foster, James 
Patch, Henry Pierce, James Goldthwait (Salem). 
John Darby (Salem), Asa Larcom (Salem), Robert 
Stone, Esop Hale, Herbert Standley, John Biles, Jo- 
siah Woodberry, Jacob Poland, Andrew Elliot, 
William Herrick, Ebenezer Rogers, John Stone, 
W^illiam Cressy, Israel Greene, Benjamin Porter, 
Thomas Morse, Joseph Hall, William Kimball, 
Daniel Carleton, William Gage, Jonathan Gage, 
Caleb Wallis, Ebenezer Messer, Joseph Cross, Eli- 
sha Webber, William Harriman, John Berry, Joseph 
Foster, John Swain. The officers were William 
Groves, first lieutenant ; John Wallis, second lieu- 
tenant ; John Clark, ensign: Samuel Foster, Wil- 
liam Bowles, Richard Ober and Samuel Cressy, ser- 
geants ; William Dike, Joshua Ellingwood, Francis 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 177 

Ober and Ezra Ober, corporals; Jonathan Grover 
drummer, and John Leach fifer, both of Marble- 
head. Total, 69. 

The following persons belonging to this town 
were enlisted in Capt. Billy Porter's company, and 
were in Col. Tapper's regiment at West Point, 
1779. 

Thomas Francis, lient. ; William Burley, lieut. ; 
Benjamin Shaw, ensign; John Pickett, sergeant; 
Jeremiah Woodberry, corporal ; Benjamin B. Wood, 
drummer. The privates were Asa Batchelder, Jona- 
than Conant, Benjamin Corning, Mathias Claxton, 
Alexander Carrico, Samuel Dodge, Simeon Dodge, 
George Grose, Andrew Herrick, Claton Jones, Na- 
than Jones, John Kennady, Abner Raymond, Ben- 
jamin Woodberry, Benjamin Woodberry, jr. Israel 
Woodberry, Nathaniel Woodberry, WiUiam Wood- 
berry. Total, 24. 

The company commanded by Capt. Page of Dan- 
vers, enlisted the following persons from Beverly. 

Samuel Goodridge, 1st lieut. ; Joseph Raymond, 
sergeant. Privates, Robert Edwards, Scipio Bart- 
lett, James Hurley, Joseph Poland^ Primas Green. 
Total, 7. 

Jonathan Conant, sen. was paymaster in Col. 
Francis' regiment, and afterv/ards under Col. Ben- 
jamin Tupper. He was in the battle of Monmouth. 
Joshua Twist v/as in Gates' army at the taking 
of Burgoyne. William and Samuel Cressy v/ere 
in the battle of Trenton. Luke Roundy was a 
lieutenant in Capt. Low's company. He was 
wounded at Saratoga, and died at Albany. Na- 
thaniel Cleaves was in the same engagement. Wil- 
liam Goodridge, Robert Goodridge, Israel Trask, 



178 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

Benjamin Ellingwood, Thomas Lovett, Benjamin 
Bickford, Benjamin Bickford, jr. John Bickford, 
Nathaniel Friend, Isaac Smith, Jonathan Wood- 
berry, Zachariah Morgan and Benjamin Spriggs, 
were also in the service. 



TEMPERANCE. 

On the subject of temperance, this town has kept 
in the van of enlightened public sentiment. While 
mistaken hospitality required the decanter to grace 
the sideboard, and the "social glass" constituted an 
essential element of friendly intercourse, spirituous 
liquors were here, as in other places, freely used. 
To neglect to offer, or to refuse to partake, would, 
according to prevailing opinions, have been regarded 
as a violation of etiquette on the one hand, and as 
indicative of austerity or displeasure on the other ; 
and though a general sobriety prevailed, and gross 
instances of intoxication were less frequent than in 
most other towns, still there were here many victims 
to the inebriating cup. The idea prevailed here as 
elsewhere, that, aside from convivial occasions and 
social greetings, a necessity existed for the use of 
alcoholic drinks by laboring men. This idea was 
encouraged by municipal action. In repairing the 
highways, or in executing any public work, the town 
made a liberal provision of rum, and a half-pint per 
man of this beverage was frequently added to daily 
pay. The practice of " treating" on being inducted 
into a town or parish ofiice, and of providing select- 
men and assessors with dinners, wine, punch, toddy, 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 179 

flip, etc., at the tavern in which they held their 
meetings, also prevailed, though with no sensible 
advantage to the public interest. But as temperance 
principles became better understood, these customs 
were abandoned.^ In 1821, two innholders and 
twenty-one retailers were licensed to sell ardent spi- 
rits : but for several years past, no licenses have been 
granted to taverns or stores, and the sale of distilled 
liquors and wines has been restricted to medical pre- 
scriptions. This reform has been promoted by judi- 
cious individuals, who early appreciated the evils of 
intemperance. It has been of gradual growth, and 
effected with but little excitement, — an evidence of 
its purity, and a pledge of its permanency. 

In the progress of temperance, the appointment of 
a " committee of inspection " in 1675, to prevent 
" private tippling and drunkenness," may be consid- 
ered a primary measure.f Though much was pro- 
bably done intermediately, the second act of the town 
worthy of remembrance was the vote of March 8th, 
1790, by which the practice of "giving drink" to 
public officers on being qualified, was abolished. A 
third step was a vote of March 9th. 1807, by which 

* About 40 gallons of rum were consumed annually at the expense 
of the town, in repairing the highways. Parish tavern bills were about 
^30 per annum, and town tavern expenses were considerably more. 
Between Aug. 1, 1789, and Feb. 1, 1790, excise was paid on 2,037 1-2 
gallons N. E. rum and other distilled spirits, 420 1-2 gallons foreign 
rum, 119 1-4 gallons other foreign distilled spirits, and 52 1-2 gallons 
of wine. 

f This committee was chosen in obedience to a law of the General 
Court, and consisted of William Dodge, sen., Humphrey Woodberry, 
Josiah Roots, Exercise Conant, John Hill, Robert Hibbert, Nathaniel 
Hayward, Richard Ober and John Dodge, sen. Each member of the 
committee had the supervision of ten families. 



180 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

the selectmen were requested "not to approbate or 
recommend for the renewal of their license any per- 
son in fntare as an innholder," who was not provid- 
ed with accommodations for entertaining travellers. 
Both Dr. Abbot and Mr. Emerson early gave their 
public testimony against the evils of intemperance, 
and contributed essentially in awakening a more 
general attention to the subject. These, with other 
acts of a less public character, opened the way for 
the consummating measure of concentrating and 
consolidating public opinion through the agency of 
temperance societies. 

The first movement towards obtaining pledges to 
total abstinence from distilled liquors, except as a 
medicine, was about 1830, and a society was soon 
after formed. 

The Beverly Baptist Temperance Society was or- 
ganized in 1832. In 1835, these societies were unit- 
ed, under the name of The Beverly Temperance So- 
ciety. 

The Village Temperance Society, at the Farms, 
was instituted April 2d, 1832. The constitution dis- 
countenances traffic in distilled liquors, and prohibits 
their use as a common beverage. 

In 1833, a Temperance Association was formed 
in the Second Parish, the members of which pledged 
themselves not to use distilled spirit, nor provide it 
for others, except as a medicine, and in all proper 
ways to discountenance its use in the community. 

The Union Temperance Society was formed April 
6th, 1835. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 181 

The Total Abstlnence Society was organized in 
April, 1838. Its motto is -'total abstinence from all 
that can intoxicate." 

Between two and three thonsand persons have 
united with these several associations, and through 
the agency of lectures and efficient committees, as 
well as individual example, each organization has 
effected much for the general cause. In 1840, the 
" Washingtonian reformation" commenced, and gave 
a new impulse to the temperance movement through- 
out the country. Of this influence, Beverly has par- 
taken. Lectures by reformed inebriates have been 
delivered before numerous and interested assemblies, 
and a large number of pledges taken. It is deserv- 
ing of honorable mention, that no fishing vessels 
sailing from this port, take ardent spirits as a part of 
their regular supplies.^ 



CHARITABLE AND OTHER ASSOCIATIONS. 

The benevolent virtues are not the least among the 
characteristics of Beverly. Several associations ex- 
ist, having for their object the alleviation of misfor- 
tune and distress. March 1, 1807, a society was 
incorporated by the name of the Beverly Charita- 
ble Society, for the purpose of raising a fund to 
relieve any inhabitant of the town who from sickness 
or misfortune may require assistance! . It also pro- 

* The temperance reform has materially reduced the number of 
persons supported by the town. 

t The corporate name of this society has since been changed to 
the "Fisher Charitable Society." 

16 



182 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

posed to aid the destitute widow, provide for the 
helpless orphan, and generally to perform such acts of 
charity and henevolence as its funds would from 
time to time allow, excluding from its good ofh- 
ces such as were idle, prodigal, intemperate, or to 
whom relief should more properly come from the 
overseers of the poor. This society, from the dis- 
tinguished liberality of several gentlemen, has a 
considerable fund. The late Dr. Fisher may be 
considered as its founder. He left a legacy of 
$1000, in addition to $200 presented it in his life- 
time. The society has distributed large sums in 
charity since its foundation. 

The Beverly Female Charitable Society was 
incorporated April 5th, 1836. The members of this 
society have been the active distributors of a large 
amount of property in money, clothing, and other 
necessaries and comforts. Formerly, an annual pub- 
lic address was delivered before the society, and a 
collection taken up in aid of its funds ; but these 
have for several years past been discontinued. The 
personal labors of several of the ladies of this insti- 
tution, in visiting, counselhng and relieving the needy, 
have been in the true spirit of that christian philan- 
thropy which is never weary in well-doing. 

The Female Seamen's Friend Society was organ- 
ized in September, 1832, and consists of about one 
hundred members. The object of this society is the 
laudable one of promoting the comfort and improving 
the moral and religious condition of seamen. The 
means for promoting this design are derived from the 
annual subscription of members and the avails of 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 183 

the society's labor at its semi-monthly meetings. 
Bibles and tracts are purchased for distribution on 
board of vessels sailing out of this port, and all 
monies remaining on hand are annually paid over 
to the Seamen's Friend Society at New York, for the 
diffusion of religious knowledge among seamen. 
This society may be regarded as among the many 
approved agencies for hastening the fulfilment of the 
divhie prediction that " the abundance of the sea 
shall be converted unto" the Most High. 

The Home Seamen's Friend Society was organized 
March ISlh, 1833, and numbers eighty-four mem- 
bers. The object of this institution is to relieve 
destitute seamen and their families, the funds for 
which are derived from the annual subscription of 
members and the proceeds of work performed at 
semi-monthly meetings. For several years past an 
annual address has been delivered before the society, 
and in some instances a collection taken for its bene- 
fit. At the time of its organization, the society con- 
sisted exclusively of ladies of the Baptist denomina- 
tion, and was called the Baptist Seamen's Friend 
Society ; but as ladies from other denominations 
subsequently united with it, the expediency of chang- 
ing its name was suggested, which was effected at 
the annual meeting, Nov. 5th, 1839. This society 
has rendered valuable service to the families of those 
for whose relief it was instituted. Other societies for 
the relief of the poor exist, whose labors of love and 
works of charity have gladdened many a desolate 
heart. Of the private charities we can only speak 
generally. There is abundant reason to believe that 
this mode of bestowing alms is practised to as great 



184 HISTORY or BEVERLY. 

an extent as can be reasonably expected. A wealthy 
individual of this town, now resident in the metrop- 
olis, has at several different times made liberal dona- 
tions that are gratefully remembered ; and gifts by 
other individuals are registered in the recollections of 
numbers. 

The Beverly Mechanic Association was formed 
in 1836. The design of this institution is " the 
moral and intellectual improvement of its members, 
and their relief in distress." As yet, drafts upon its 
funds for the last mentioned object, have been found 
necessary in two instances only. Its library is 
gradually enlarging. The funds of the association 
amount to $450. The present number of members 
is ninety-two. Three dollars are required as the fee 
of membership, subject to an annual assessment of 
one dollar. Seven dollars will constitute a life 
membership exempt from assessments. Quarterly 
meetings of the association are held, at which sub- 
jects for discussion are presented. 

A Masonic Lodge was established here during the 
revolutionary war. This was dissolved, and another 
established under a charter from the Grand Lodge of 
Massachusetts, in 1824. 

The Beverly Anti-Slavery Society was formed 
Feb. 21st, 1834, at which time a constitution was 
reported and adopted. The society consists of one 
hundred and twelve members. 

The Upper Beverly Anti-Slavery Society was 
organized in 1837. According to the second article 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 185 

of the constitution, ''The objects of this society shall 
be, 1st, the emancipation of the people of color 
from legal slavery; 2d, the emancipation of the 
same people, bond and free, from the despotism of a 
corrupt public sentiment." 

Though slavery existed in Massachusetts until 
1780, it never assumed the objectionable features ex- 
hibited in the southern section of the United States. 
As a system, American slavery is an unqualified 
evil, and its perpetuity can in no way be reconciled 
with the principles of a republican government. 
The voice of humanity and the law of God demand 
its abrogation, and the day is approaching when 
ever}^ yoke will be broken and the bond go free. 

The Beverly Bank was incorporated July 23, 
1802, the charter to expire in 1812. It has since 
been twice renewed. The capital stock was origi- 
nally $160,000. In 1815, it was reduced to ,$100,- 
000, and increased again, in 1836, to $125,000. Its 
presidents have been Israel Thorndike, Moses 
Brown, Joshua Fisher, William Leach and Pyam 
Lovett, the last of whom now fills the office. It has 
had but two cashiers, Josiah Gould and the present 
incumbent, Albert Thorndike. This institution is 
of convenience to trade, and affords a safe invest- 
ment of capital to those who do not wish to manage 
private loans. Through all the financial changes 
and pressures of the last eight years, it has main- 
tained its integrity unimpaired, and its affairs are 
conducted with great exactness and skill. 

The Beverly Marine Insurance Company was in- 
corporated in June, 1809, with a capital of $100,000. 
16=^ 



180 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

The charter was for twenty years, and the com- 
pany expired with the limitation, part of the stock- 
holders being opposed to its renewal. 



FIRE DEPARTMENT. 

The usual precautions against fire have been adopt- 
ed by this town. At a town meeting, Nov. 17, 1774, 
it was voted, that if any number of men, not ex- 
ceeding thirty-two, shall enter into agreement to pur- 
chase a good fire-engine and the necessary appara- 
tus, and contract to improve the same for extinguish- 
ing fires as is customary in other towns, then in 
such case they shall be excused from serving in any 
town ofiice or as juryman. It appears that this vote 
was availed of, and a fire company formed which 
purchased an engine and the necessary apparatus. 
The proprietors, however, in 1795, gave up their en- 
gine, engine-house, hooks, ladders, etc. to the town, 
and also a sum of money in hand, on condition that 
the town should purchase one of the best engines 
that could be procured. May 16th, 1805, it was 
voted to raise $1000 for the purchase of a new fire- 
engine, and in 1828, it was voted to procure another. 

The fire apparatus now belonging to the town con- 
sists of three engines, managed by efficient compa- 
nies, with the necessary appendages of hose, buckets, 
axes, etc. One of these is in the second parish and 
the other two in the first. Fire-hooks and ladders 
are placed at several convenient points. In addition 
to these, the Union Fire Society, formed in 1804 for 
the purpose of aiding each other in case of fire, have 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 187 

ladders, fire-hooks, axes and sails, and each member 
is provided with two leather buckets, a large cloth 
bag, a bed- key and screw-driver. This company 
has a fund of about $1400, in addition to their ap- 
paratus. 

Four cisterns have been built to furnish water in 
cases of fire. 

The principal fires that have occurred in this town, 
and which have put in requisition the important ser- 
vices of the various fire associations, are : one that took 
place in 1828, which consumed the brick factory in 
the second parish ; one on the 20th April, 1829, which 
destroyed the barns of Robert Currey and Michael 
Whitney, and damaged more or less the dwellings of 
Messrs. Whitney and Jeremiah Lovett, and also a 
barn near the store of S. P. Lovett ; one on 29th May 
following, which consumed the dwelling of Robert 
Currey, the barn and store of Samuel P. Lovett, with 
part of the goods, and the dwellings of Michael 
Whitney and Josiah Raymond ; one Dec. 8th, 1832, 
which burned to the ground the Dane-street meeting- 
house, — the three last of which were supposed to be 
the work of incendiaries, — and one, May 20th, 1841, 
which consumed a large store and most of its con- 
tents on Foster's wharf. 



STREETS. 



The public streets, courts and squares, forty-three 
in number, were named by order of the town in 
1838. They are as follows : Cabot, Congress, Water, 
Davis, Eront, Union, Bartlett, Central, Lovett, Frank- 



188 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

lin, Washington, Hale, Ellingwood, Charity, Cox, 
School, Bnrley Court, Lafayette, Elm, Wallis, Fed- 
eral, Essex, Briscoe, Church, Winter, Knowlton. 
Dane, Charnock, Colon, Elliott, Mill, Conant, Lib- 
erty, Dodge, Ober, Lothrop, Howard, Thorndike. 
Brown, Endicott, Abbot, Burley, and May. 



BURIAL GROUNDS. 



The burial grounds in this town are eight in num- 
ber, viz., three in the first parish, two near the sec- 
ond parish meeting-house, one in Dodge's row, one 
at Rial-side, and one at the Farms. A traditionary 
account is, that the first burying place was at Wood- 
berry's Point ; but the oldest of which there is any 
record is that near the vestry of the first parish, in 
which repose the remains of the first three settled 
ministers. Hale, Blowers and Champney. The ear- 
hest dates decyphered on any of the stones are 1686, 
1678 and 1683, the last of which is over the grave of 
Mrs. Rebecca, wife of John Hale. This burying 
ground was the only one used within the limits of 
the first parish until Jan. 1790, a period of more than 
one hundred years. In 1684, John Green, of Rial- 
side, obtained liberty to bury his dead in this ground, 
on condition that he contributed towards the expense 
of the same. At the same time, measures were 
adopted to enclose the ground. The earliest date 
that can be found in the burying ground at Rial-side 
is 1730. In 1788, the first parish purchased of Dan- 
iel Adams a piece of land, near the Common, for 
burial purposes ; and Jan. 17, 1790, the remains of 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 189 

Widow Mary Allen, aged 71, were deposited there, in 
the first grave. The town burying ground on Hale 
street, and adjoining the former, was laid out at a 
still later period, and is now most used. The bury- 
ing ground at the Farms was laid out in 1840, and, 
on the 24th of August, the same year, it received 
for its first deposit the remains of Deacon David 
Larcom. 

The first burial place in the second parish was 
opened about 1715, and the remains of Eleanour, child 
of John Dodge, Jr., and Elizabeth, wife of John Trask, 
were among the first, if not the first, it received. The 
most ancient stone is at the grave of Joseph Herrick, 
and bears date Feb. 14, 1717-18. The graves of 
Mr. Chipman, his two wives and his daughter Sarah, 
are in the south-western corner, shaded by a beauti- 
ful oak ; but time has been busy with the grave- 
stones, and unless some " Old Mortality" soon exer- 
cises his friendly office, few inscriptions that can be 
decyphered will remain. The second ground, ad- 
joining the second parish meeting-house, was laid 
out in 1803, and now contains upwards of three 
hundred graves. A tomb was built here in 1806, by 
Joseph Chipman, son of the first minister, and an- 
other in 1836, by William Friend. The wife of the 
Rev. Mr. Fairfield was the first person buried in 
this ground. In the burial grounds of the south 
parish are several tombs and handsome monuments. 

Among the places of painful interest, the village 
grave-yard will always be conspicuous. It speaks 
in solemn tones of man's mortality, — of withered 
hopes, and of plans unfinished. Here lies the infant 
pledge of love, "plucked like a bud from its parent 
stem, to bloom a sweeter flower in a fairer clime :" 



190 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

and close by its side, the child of many prayers, 
whose early promise death has prematurely blasted, 
piercing the parental heart with sorrows which only 
parents know. Here repose the ashes of lover and 
friend, of simple and lettered, of poverty and wealth, 
alike to rise in the resurrection morn. It is instruc- 
tive to walk amidst the congregation of the dead, 
and meditate on life's mutations and ambition's end. 



" The very turf beneath our feet seems bent in silent prayer, 
The trees to lift their green boughs up, and ask a father's care ; 
And though the flowers may fade and fall, we mourn them not in vain, 
They tell us that thus we must die, and thus shall live again." 



Here, too, the chord that binds the soul to kindred 
and home, is drawn still closer roand the affections. 
We sadden at the thought of dying among strangers, 
with no friendly voice to speak to us the consolations 
of religion, nor friendly hand to close our eyes and 
perform the last offices of the living to our lifeless 
clay. And when the possibility of such an event is 
suggested by busy fancy, our prayer ascends to the 
Author of being that our grave may be made in the 
midst of kindred and friends, by whom our memory 
will be cherished when our dust is blended with the 
earth whence it sprang. 

It is consonant with pious sentiment and pure af- 
fection, to build the mausoleum and erect the column 
over the remains of departed worth ; and even the 
simple head-stone, with its brief epitaph, is a memen- 
to of friendship that speaks favorably for civilized 
man. Other methods, however, than these may be 
adopted for giving utterance to affection's language. 
At trifling cost, trees may be planted in every village 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 191 

grave-yard, which in a few years will become beau- 
tiful groves; and though these may be less attractive 
than a Pere la Chaise or a Mount Auburn, they'^will, 
nevertheless, increase the sacredness of the " field of 
graves," and impart a chastened cheerfulness to 
places so fruitful of melancholy associations. 



COMMON LANDS. 



''Beverly Commons" consisted of eighteen hun- 
dred and fifty acres, in seven distinct tracts. The 
largest of these tracts was that known as the Sheep- 
pasture, containing 1013 acres. The others are des-. 
ignated as Mackerel Cove, Rubly Hill, Cedar Swamp,; 
Burnt Hill, Snake Hill and Bald Hill pastures. 

In 1670, the town " voted that there shall not be 
any of the town's land lying in common, disposed of 
upon any account, but by consent of the whole at a 
general town meeting, legally warned; and it was 
also voted, for preventing the dividing of the same, 
that they shall abide in common as they now are, 
and not be divided without the consent of the whole, 
by general town meeting legally warned. If six 
considerable men in the town oppose the division, it 
shall not be granted." 

It appears that the town and '' commoners," or pro- 
prietors of grants, held a divided jurisdiction over 
these lands, which it is now difficult to reconcile. 
These latter hel4 separate meetings, the records of 
which, from 1698-9 to 1750, are in the town clerk's 
office. The town having disposed of several parcels 
of the common lands by grants and exchange, the 



192 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

commoners, at a meeting, May 4, 1714. confirmed 
the titles to prevent " disturbance amongst friends." 
In 1716, the common lands were divided into stints 
or rights of six acres each ; ten of which were set 
apart for the use of the poor — two for the ministry in 
the first, and one for the ministry in the second par- 
ish. An assignment of rights was also made to 
individuals on the following principles, viz : One 
right each to freeholders of a cottage or house erected 
in or before 1661, and standing and inhabited in June, 
1715 ; to freeholders whose house was erected or 
standing and inhabited in 1668 ; and to freeholders 
of all other dwellings standing in 1699, erected sub- 
sequent to 1661, and not in succession to any of the 
former between 1668 and 1699. Other rights were 
granted upon distinct grounds, but the rocks were to 
remain free for the use of all the inhabitants of the 
town forever. The separate pastures into which the 
commons were divided, were afterwards managed as 
separate fields by the proprietors of each. The 
records of Snake-hill propriety, commencing in 1728 
and continued about sixty years, are extant. Most 
of the common lands are now private property. 



REPRESENTATIVES. 

The following is a list of the representatives from 
this town in General Court, from 1672 till 1842. 
Until 1693 they were styled '■ deputies." 

Thomas Lothrop (4 years), John Dodge, John 
West, Paul Thorndike, William Dodge, Exercise 
Conant (2 y.), William Rayment, Thomas West, 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 193 

Andrew Elliot (5 y.), Peter Woodberry, John Dodge 
(3 y.), Samuel Balch (14 y.), Isaac Woodberry (2 y.), 
Robert Hale, sen., John Balch (3 y.), Joseph Herrick 
(4 y.), Robert Briscoe, John Thorndike, Jonathan 
Rayment (2 y.), Robert Woodberry (2 y.), Andrew 
Dodge (2 y.), Henry Herrick (24 y.), Robert Hale, 
jr. (16 y.), Daniel Conant (2 y.), John Leach, Josiah 
Batchelder, jr. (6 y.), Jonathan Conant (2 y.), Nich- 
olas Thorndike, Larkin Thorndike (7 y.), Nathan 
Dane (4 y.), Joseph Wood (17 y.), Israel Thorn- 
dike (6 v.), John Cabot, Moses Brown (3 y.), John 
Stephens (2 y.), James Burnham (2 y.), Abner Chap- 
man (11 y.), Thomas Davis (15 y.), Thomas Ste- 
phens (4 y.), Robert Rantoul (20 y.), Isaac Rea (5 y.), 
Nathaniel Goodwin (7 y.), Nicholas Thorndike (4 y.), 
Josiah Lovett (3 y.), Oliver Obear (4 y.), William 
Thorndike (2 y.), Henry Larcom (4 y.), Amos Shel- 
den (2 y.), John SafFord (4 y.), Jesse Shelden, Nehe- 
miah Romidy (3 y.). Cotton Bennett (3 y.), John 
Conant (2 y.), Stephen Nourse (2 y.), Pyam Lovett, 
David Larcom, Ezra Dodge, Daniel Cross, Jonathan 
Batchelder, Edwin M. Stone (2 y.), Thomas B. 
Smith (2 y.), William Lamson (2 y.), John I. Baker, 
Edward Stone, John Pickett. 



STOCKS. 



In the early period of the colony, stocks and the 
whipping-post were considered as essential appurte- 
nances of a village as the schoolhouse and tavern ; 
and to dignify them in the eyes of peaceable citizens, 
probably, (for no other reason is readily suggested,) 
17 



194 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

and to give a sacred character, perhaps, to the tor- 
tare inflicted, they were usually set up in the vicin- 
ity of the meeting-house. Here, offenders were ex- 
posed to the jeers and rude assaults of a thoughtless 
rabble, or subjected to a discipline peculiar now to 
the army and navy, and eminently calculated to 
harden the transgressor and extinguish the last emo- 
tion of manliness glowing in his breast. Such were 
the spirit and practice of the times ; and it is no re- 
flection upon the natural kindness of the inhabitants 
to say that, in harmony with common opinion and 
common custom, which is common law, Beverly was 
very early furnished Avith these ancient auxiliaries to 
justice, which was sometimes summarily adminis- 
tered. In those times a magistrate might, upon view 
of an oflence, proceed at once to convict and punish, 
— an exercise of power not always tempered with 
mercy. An anecdote is related of a good justice of 
the peace, which shows, that tenacity for every "jot 
and tittle" of the law did not necessarily banish 
from the heart the spirit of hospitality. "On a 
severe cold night in winter, a traveller came to his 
house for shelter and refreshment. The ready hos- 
pitality of the justice was about being displayed, 
when the traveller unluckily uttered a word which 
his host considered profane. Upon this he informed 
his guest that he was a magistrate, pointed out the 
nature of the offence, and explained the necessity of 
its being expiated by sitting an hour in the stocks ! 
Remonstrance was unavailing. Cold as it was, the 
justice, aided by his son, conducted the traveller to 
the place of punishment. Here he was confined in 
the usual mode, the benevolent executor of the law 
remaining with him to beguile the time of its tedium 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 195 

by edifying conversation. At the expiration of the 
hour, he was re-conducted to the house, and hospita- 
bly entertained till the next morning, when he de- 
parted with a determination, doubtless, to consider 
his words more carefully before giving them utter- 
ance in the hearing of a conscientious magistrate." 
It is hardly necessary to add, that these relics of a 
barbarous age have long since disappeared. 



The diseases most prevalent in this town, are con- 
sumption, fevers and dysentery. 

'i'he average number of deaths, annually, is about 
one in 70 of the population. From 1772 to 1781, a 
period of nine years, the number of deaths recorded 
by Mr. Willard, in the jfirst parish, was 390, averag- 
ing 43 and a fraction annually, for that part of the 
town. But this included most of the revolutionary 
war, and was a period of extraordinary destruction 
of human life. The deaths recorded by Mr. Mc- 
Kean, from 1782 to 1801, a period of twenty years. 
were 956, or 47 15-20 per year, for the first parish. 
In this estimate are included 149 occasioned by an 
epidemic in 1795 and 1796. The average number 
of deaths in the first society for twenty years pre- 
ceding Jan. 1, 1824, was 42 per year. 

The deaths in the second parish, recorded by Mr. 
Chipman, from 1715 to 1769 inclusive, a period of 
nearly fifty-five years, are 631, averaging a fraction 
over eleven per year. The annual deaths during 
Mr. Chipman's ministry, varied from six, the small- 



196 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

est number, to thirty-eight, the largest, which occur- 
red in 1737, when the scarlet fever and throat dis- 
temper prevailed. From 1801 to 1812, inclusive, the 
deaths were 137, or 11 5-12 per year. Of this num- 
ber, 16 were between the ages of 60 and 70, eight 
between 70 and 80, nine between 80 and 90, one 
aged 92, and one 99 1-4. The number of deaths for 
ten years ending Jan. 1, 1840, is 92, averaging 9 2-10 
per year, showing a decrease of more than two per 
cent. This improvement in the health of the second 
parish, is to be attributed in part to a more strict 
regard to the laws of the physical constitution, and 
the improvement of low, wet lands. 

The deaths in the whole town in 1818 and '19, 
exclusive of deaths abroad, were 127, of which 30 
were fever, 26 consumption, and 19 dysentery. In 
1820 the deaths were 60, of which 11 were con- 
sumption and 9 fever. In 1827 the deaths were 67 
at home, and 9 abroad. Few towns in the Com- 
monwealth, of the same population, can exhibit 
more numerous instances of longevity. The whole 
number of deaths in the first parish for the ten years 
ending Jan. 27th, 1840, was 213, of which 124, or 
nearly one half, were persons between 50 and 97 
years. Mr. James Woodberry, of Beverly Farms, 
who died in 1842, aged 88 years and 8 months, was 
the oldest man in town at his decease, and of a fam- 
ily remarkable for longevity. Two sisters survived 
him, one aged 85 and the other 87. Both his father 
and mother died at 86. His widow is 72 ; and her 
mother, Mrs. Appleton, is still living at the advanced 
age of 102. Mrs. W.'s father, at his death, was 90, 
and her grandmother 92. The united age of ten of 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 197 

the family amount to 866 years, and their average 
is S6. 

The average number of marriages in this town 
per annum, for the last twenty years, is 33 — births, 
132. 



POPULATION, &C. 

It is impossible to ascertain with entire accuracy, 
the population of this town at early periods of its 
settlement. Still, from careful calculations that have 
been made, the number of inhabitants at the time 
the town was incorporated in 1668, may be estimated 
at six hundred. The population in 1708, was one 
thousand six hundred eighty, and in 1753, it had 
increased to two thousand and twenty-three. The 
following census, taken by authority, exhibits with 
exactness the population at subsequent periods : 

1765, including 80 blacks, 2163, 
1790, 3290, 

1800, 3881, 

1810, including 61 negroes, 4333, 
1820, 4283, 

1830, 4231, excess of females, 213. 

By the census of 1840, the entire population, in- 
cluding twenty-three colored persons, is four thous- 
and six hundred eighty-nine. White males two 
thousand two hundred forty-seven — females two 
thousand four hundred nineteen. Excess of females 
one hundred seventy-two. Number of families, one 
thousand sixty-six. Average number in a family, 
a fraction less than five. Number of polls, one 
17# 



198 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

thousand one hundred sixty-nine, of which seventy- 
six are not taxable. Number of revolutionary pen- 
sioners, ten, four of whom are females. 

Persons under 5 years, 323 males — 285 females, 



5 and under 10 


C( 


284 


a 


272 


10 " 


(C 


15 


t( 


240 


ii 


197 


15 " 


(C 


20 


(I 


204 


Cl 


250 


20 « 


IC 


30 


(I 


394 


<( 


409 


30 " 


IC 


40 


a 


326 


(I 


333 


40 " 


a 


50 


i( 


182 


a 


222 


50 " 


(I 


60 


a 


140 


li 


183 


60 " 


cc 


70 


u 


94 


u 


150 


70 " 


(I 


80 


(C 


42 


cc 


82 


80 " 


(( 


90 


u 


18 


cc 


33 


90 " 


n 


100 


u 


00 


cc 


2 


100 








00 


cc 


1 



The population in the second parish is about 
seven hundred and thirty. The number of dwellings 
in the town at different periods is shown by the fol- 



qng table : 








In 1753 there 


were 


289, 




1765 






307, 




1786 






308,- 


-shops 51— barns 235, 


1790 






422, 




1800 






460, 




1811 






476,- 


-shops and warehouses 80, 


1831 






519,- 


-shops, warehouses and stores 146- 


1840 






585 


barns 345. 



AGRICULTURE. 



A CONSIDERABLE portlon of this town is essentially 
agricultural. There are many excellent farms, pro- 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 199 

ducing abundant crops of hay, com, rye, oats, bar- 
ley, potatoes, beans and other vegetables. Much 
swamp land has been reclaimed and rendered valua- 
ble, by draining and other processes. The events 
of the few past years, illustrating the superior safety 
of investments in real estate, have not been lost upon 
this community, as is manifested by an increased 
attention to this vitally important branch of in- 
dustry. 

The whole number of acres of land in this town, 
is between nine and ten thousand. 

Of stock and products, the valuation of 1767 re- 
turned 164 horses, 143 oxen, 741 cows, 1099 sheep, 
37 swine, 586| tons English hay, 367^ tons meadow 
hay, 93 tons salt do., 10,728 bushels grain, 821 bar- 
rels cider. 

The valuation of 1786 returned 164 horses, 164 
oxen, 639 cows, 900 sheep, 260 swine, 261 barrels 
cider. It also returned 674J acres of tillage, 1170 
acres English mowing, 696 do. fresh meadow, 102 
do. salt marsh, 3746J do. pasturage, 156 do. wood- 
land, 355 do. unimproved, 1009 do. unimprovable. 

The valuation of 1840 returned 217 horses, 440 
oxen, 512 cows, 41 steers and heifers, 180 sheep, 
900 swine, 754f acres tillage, 2014 do. English 
mowing, 302J do. fresh meadow, 55 do. salt marsh, 
3271 do. pasturage, 64 cow rights, 728 acres wood- 
land, 814 do. unimproved, 5 do. owned by the town, 
to whicli may be added, 560 do. unimprovable, 227 
do. used for roads, and 306 do. covered with water. 

There Avere raised the same year, 20,560 bushels 
potatoes, 10,427 bushels corn, 2666 bushels barley, 
1240 bushels oats, 821 bushels rye, and 100 bushels 
wheat Of hay, 4050 tons were cut. The value of 



200 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

dairy products was ^^20,000, orchards $3000. market 
gardens $2800, poultry $1000. Five hundred cords 
of wood were cut and sold. 

An increasing attention is paid to horticulture and 
the cultivation of fruits. 



The valuation of Beverly in 181 1 , was $822,908 66 ; 
in 1821, $853,079 33; in 1831, $973,029 06; in 1840, 
$1,306,509. 

The manufactures amount annually in value to 
about $120,000, from a capital invested of about 
$40,000, and giving employment to nearly five hun- 
dred persons. They consist of boots, shoes, cabinet 
ware and chairs, Britannia^ and tin ware, bricks, 
hair, mustard, soap and candles. 

The foreign and domestic imports for 1787 were 
£13,667.7.11 ; for 1788, £13,663.7.8f Among the 
exports for 1787, were 1517 tierces fish, 1364 quin- 
tals do., 696 hhds. do., 32 boxes do., 68 bbls. pick- 
led do., 112 bbls. mackerel, 700 bushels corn, 116 
bbls. potatoes, 370 bushels do., 8000 bunches onions, 
1000 lbs. cheese, 1 7 bbls. cranberries. 

The vessels employed in 1786 were sixty in num- 
ber, with 492 men. Of these, nineteen were in the West 
India trade. In 1787, sixty-nine vessels, with 408 
men were employed, viz : 1 ship, 5 brigs, 5 sloops, 
31 fishing schooners, and 17 trading do. In 1788, 
there were thirty-two fishing vessels, employing 271 

* The manufacture of Britannia ware in this country was com- 
menced in this town, in 1812; by Mr. Israel Trask. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 201 

men. The whole number of vessels at present em- 
ployed in the fishing, coasting, freighting and foreign 
trade, is 78, investing a capital of $160,000, and 
employing between four and five hundred men. 

From the commencement of the war in Europe, 
consequent upon the French revolution of 1789, until 
1807, the cod-fishery was prosecuted with great suc- 
cess and large pecuniary profit. The embargo which 
began in December of the year 1807, and closed in 
the spring of 1809, entirely prostrated this business. 
It was resumed in a degree in the course of the year 
last named, and continued till the war of 1812, 
when it was again interrupted for the space of three 
whoie seasons. After the peace of 1815, the busi- 
ness revived, and has been continued with a success 
depending on the discounts of the "Grand" and 
other banks of the Atlantic. 

Much of the fish cured in this town was formerly 
shipped to Spain and other catholic countries of 
Europe. At present, they find their way mostly to 
South America, the West Indies, and the valley of 
the Mississippi. Throughout the State, fish has in 
times past been a standing dish for Saturdays. The 
custom of dining on fish on Saturday rather than on 
Friday, originated in a desire of our ancestors to 
avoid the remotest approximation to the observances 
of the catholics, who, during lent and other fasts, 
substituted this article of food for meat. 

The wharves are twelve in number, which, with 
sixteen stores thereon, are valued at $30,000 to 
$40,000. The annual importation and sale of eastern 
wood amounts to about 3000 cords ; coal, 250 tons ; 
and lumber, 700,000 feet, forming an aggregate value 
of $27,500. 



202 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

There are, in the first parish, ten groceries, six dry 
goods stores, — in two of which drugs and medicines 
are sold, — five tailors, two miUiners, three hardware 
stores, three shoe stores, one pubhc-house, three 
block-tin manufacturers, one lawyer's office, one 
watchmaker, one barber, three wheelwrights, three 
blacksmith's and two cooper's shops, three hair man- 
ufactories, two sailmakersj one ropewalk, one pump 
and block maker, one mustard factory, one hatter, 
one tinplate worker, two cabinet-makers, one steam 
saw-mill, one soap and candle factory, three painters 
and glaziers, one trunk and harness maker, one pro- 
vision store, and several carpenter's shops. There 
is also a patent balance for weighing hay and other 
heavy loads, the property of the Fisher Charitable 
Society, and a post-office, at which several mails are 
daily received. 

In the second parish are two stores, two black- 
smith's and three wheelwright's shops, five slaughter- 
houses, three grist-mills, one saw-mill, one carding- 
machine, and three brick-yards. The tanning busi- 
ness was early commenced in this part of the town, 
but was many years since abandoned. 

The facilities for communicating with Boston have 
been greatly increased by the opening of the Eastern 
rail-road. By an existing arrangement, the metrop- 
olis may be visited at six different hours daily, and 
four trains pass through town daily to and from 
the east. Beverly is favored with one of the safest 
and most commodious harbors in New England, with 
a depth of water sufficient to bring vessels of the 
largest class directly to the wharves. During the 
residence of the late William Gray, Esq., in Salem, 
many of his vessels, engaged in the indirect European 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 203 

trade, were unloaded here. The natural advantages 
of this town for the prosecution of commerce and 
manufactures, are not surpassed by any coast town 
in the Commonwealth. 



(From a point near the south end of Essex Bridge.) 






ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 



THE FIRST PARISH. 

From the settlement of Beverly until 1649, the 
inhabitants worshipped with the first church in Salem. 
As population increased, the inconvenience of cross- 
ing the river in boats suggested the expediency of 
establishing a separate church. A request to that 
effect was made to the Salem church — but for various 
reasons the plan did not meet with favorable atten- 
tion. On the 22d of the seventh month (September,) 
1650, the request was renewed, and on the second 
day of the month fohowing, an answer was returned 
authorizing the brethren on "Bass-river-side" to 
procure the service of an able and approved teacher — 
still retaining their connexion with the church in 
Salem. With this liberty they successively employ- 
ed Messrs. Josiah and Jeremiah Hubbard* and Mr. 
John Hale. 

* In the town records this name is uniformly written Hiihbard. 
The catalogue of Harvard College has it Tlobart. A note in Mass. 
Hist. Coll. says it should be so written, Joshua and Jeremiah Ho- 
bart were sons of Rev. Peter Hobart, of Hingham. Joshua settled 
in the ministry at Southhold, L. I. Jeremiah was minister of Tops- 
field, and afterwards of Haddam, Conn. He was grandfather to 
Rev. David Brainard, the distinguished missionary. 



HISTORY OF BEVEKLY. 205 

In 1656, the first meeting-house was erected near 
the north-west corner of the old burial-ground. Of 
this building there is no account other than that, in 
addition to religious ser\rices it was used for the trans- 
action of public business and for a school-room. A 
church organization was still wanting to give stabili- 
ty to the pastoral relation, and in the winter of 1666, 
the following petition was presented to the church in 
Salem : 

•' We, whose names are underwritten, the brethren 
and sisters on Bass-river-side, do present our desires 
to the rest of the church in Salem, that with their 
consent, we and our children may be a church of 
ourselves, which we also present unto Mr. Hale, 
desiring him to join with us and to be our pastor, 
with the approbation of the rest of the church." 
Signed by Roger Conant and forty-eight church 
members, to which were added the names of twenty- 
four others not in full communion, but desiring to be 
dismissed with their parents. This petition was re- 
ceived with the deliberation its importance demanded, 
"and the last of the 12th month, by the consent of 
the brethren both on that side of the river and here 
at the town, was publicly observed as a day of sol- 
emn fasting and prayer, to seek unto God for his 
direction and presence in such a weighty matter."^ 
On the 4th of July, 1667, the subject of the petition 
was again considered ; " when there was a unanimous 
consent of the brethren present unto their desire, 
only it was left to the sacrament day after [July 21st] 
when in the fullest church assembly the consent of 
the rest of the church was signified by their vote. — • 

* Salem Church Records. 

18 .. 



206 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

lifting lip their hands, — and so they have their liberty 
to be a church of themselves, only they continue 
members until their being a church." This permis- 
sion closes with the benediction : " The Lord grant 
his gracious presence with them." 

With this unanimous consent, the brethren, on the 
28th August following, renewed their call to Mr. 
Hale to become their pastor, to which he made tlje 
following reply : 

" When I look at the weight of the work which 
you call me unto, of which Paul cried out, Who is 
sufficient unto these things 7 I then looking upon my 
manifold infirmities and indisposition of spirit, then 
unto so many discouraa:ements; but when I duly con- 
sider the Lord's sovereignty over me, and all-suffi- 
ciency for my support, I desire, when I see his work 
and call, to say with Isaiah, ' Here I am. send me.' 
And in particular when I observe the remarkable 
providences of God in bringing me hither and paving 
out our way hitherto, and the room the Lord hath 
-made for me in your hearts, (which I acknowledge 
with thankfulness to God and yourselves,) I also look 
at the call of God in the present call, as a call to me : 
being the more confirmed herein by the concurrence 
of our apprehensions which hath appeared in those 
things Ave had occasion to confer about, concerning 
our entering into and proceeding with church afi'airs. 
which I hope the Lord will enable me to practise 
accordingly ; wherefore, while you walk according 
to God's order of the gospel and in the steadfastness 
of the faith of Christ, and I see that with a good 
conscience and freedom of spirit, I can carry on my 
work, and discharge my duty to God and man, and 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 207 

these that are under my care, according to the respec- 
tive relation I may bear onto them, so long as the 
Lord is calling me to labor in this part of his vine- 
yard, I desire to give up myself to the Lord and Iiis 
service in the work of the ministry in this place ; re- 
questing you to strive together with me in your 
prayers for me, that it may redound to his glory, the 
edifying of every soul that shall dwell amongst us. 
and for our joyful account in the day of Christ's ap- 
pearance. 

^y me, John Hale.'- 

The 20th September was set apart for the inter- 
esting and impressive service of ordination, an event, 
the infrequency of which, at that early period, must 
have rendered it peculiarly attractive. Invitations 
were sent to the churches of Salem, Ipswich and 
Wenham, to assist, by their pastors and messengers. 
on the occasion, which were cordially accepted. The 
Salem church, in the free spirit that granted unani- 
mous leave for separate organization, was largely 
represented. "In regard," the records say, " to our 
nearness, and that they are a church issuing out of 
ourselves, it was thought meet for as many to be 
present as could, so when the day came, divers of 
the brethren were present." Previously to the so- 
lemnities of ordination, the church was organized. 
Mr. Hale "propounded and read a confession of 
faith and covenant which they had often considered 
amongst themselves, and did then (all that had been 
in full communion in the chnrch of Salem,) express 
their consent unto that confession and covenant, and 
so were owned as a particular and distinct church of 
themselves, by the messengers of the churches pres- 



208 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

ent." The names of those who were formed into a 
church on this occasion, are as follows : John Hale, 
Richard Dodge, sen. William Woodberry, sen. Rich- 
ard Brackenbury, John Stone, sen. John Dodge, sen. 
Roger Conant, William Dodge, sen. Humphrey 
Woodberr}?", sen. Hugh Woodberry, Nicholas Patch, 
John Hill, Thomas Lothrop, Samuel Corning, Rob- 
ert Morgan, John Black, sen. Lot Conant, Ralph El- 
lingwood, William Dixey, Henry Herrick, sen. Peter 
Woolfe, Josiah Rootes, sen. Exercise Conant, Ed- 
ward Bishop, Elizabeth Dodge, Mary Lovett, Eliza- 
beth Haskell, Mary Woodberry, Sarah Leach, Free- 
grace Black, Elizabeth Corning, Elizabeth Wood- 
berry, Ellen Brackenbury, Hannah Woodberry, 
Elizabeth Patch, Hannah Sallows, Bethiah Lothrop, 
Anna Dixey, Anna Woodberry, sen. Elizabeth Wood- 
berry, Martha Woolfe, H^annah Baker. Mary Her- 
rick, Bridget Luff, Mary Dodge, sen. Anna Wood- 
berry, jr. Ede Herrick, Mary Dodge, jr. Abigail Hill, 
Lydia Herrick. 

The services of induction to the sacred office of 
the ministry then proceeded, " by the laying on of 
hands of the Rev. Mr. John Higginson, of the church 
of Salem, of Mr. Thomas Cobbett, pastor at Ipswich, 
and of Mr. Antipas Newman, of Wenham;" and 
thus Mr. Hale received fellowship, and was publicly 
recognized as pastor of '* the church of Christ at 
Bass river, in Salem." 

On the 22d September, Mrs. Rebeckah Hale was 
received to the church, on letters of dismission from 
the church at Salisbury ; and on the 29th of the same 
month, the sacrament of the Lord's supper was for 
the first time administered, on which occasion Mr. 
Hale explained the requisitions for admission to the 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 209 

ordinance. It was, doubtless, a season of uncom- 
mon delight to all who participated in this beautiful 
and affecting service. After a delay of several years, 
mingled with fear and hope, they had obtained the 
desire of their hearts. They were now peacefully 
established as an independent cliurch "in the con- 
gregational way,'' relieved from the inconveniences 
attending their earlier worship, and with a devoted 
and beloved pastor were happy in sustaining an in- 
stitution recognized as " the pillar and ground of 
truth,'' and whose existence is vitally connected with 
the moral condition of the world. Oct. 23, the same 
year, Humphrey Woodberry and Sarah, his wife, 
John Clark, jr. Humphrey Woodberry, jr. Remember 
Stone and Sarah Conant, were received to full com- 
munion, being the first persons admitted on their 
" profession of faith and repentance." The first 
child baptized, after the formation of the church, was 
Abigail, daughter of John and Hannah Sallows, Oct. 
13, 1667. The next person receiving the rite, Dec. 1 
following, was Richard Patch, a young man about 
nineteen years of age, who, "pleading a covenant 
interest in the covenant engagement of his mother, 
and making, also, confession of his own faith and re- 
pentance, having the testimony of a blameless life," 
was at the same time received into the church. 

At the time of Mr. Hale's call to the pastoral care 
of the church, provision was made by the society for 
his support. They agreed to pay him £70 per an- 
num, and to furnish thirty cords of fire- wood, ac- 
cording to an existing custom. They further agreed 
to give him the use of a house they had built, two 
acres of land to be fenced in by them, as much 
18# 



210 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

meadow as bare " about four loads of hay," and the 
" benefit of pasturing," during the time he remained 
with them in the ministry. "Yet because," said 
they, "it is Ms duty to provide for wife and children 
that he may leave behind him, and our duty to have 
a care of him in that respect, we do therefore prom- 
ise and engage, that in case he die in the ministry 
with us, that either the house and two-acre home-lot 
shall be his, or that which is equivalent — to be paid, 
(according to his last will and testament) Avithin the 
compass of one year after his decease." The first 
persons chosen to make rates for Mr. Hale's mainte- 
nance, in 1665, were Capt. Lothrop, Mr. Thorndike, 
Roger Conant, Samuel Corning and Joseph Rootes. 
At a subsequent meeting, measures were adopted "to 
buiid a house for Mr. Hale's cattle," eighteen feet 
long, ten feet wide and seven or eight feet stud. It 
was also agreed to pay " Farmer Dodge" for his 
ground, bought for the ministry, "either two cows 
or ten pounds," and to pay Humphrey Woodberry 
twenty shillings an acre for his ground, he having 
" free liberty to pass through with a cart when he 
hath occasion." Various measures were adopted, from 
1667 to 1684, for the supply of Mr. Hale's wood, at 
which latter date, his salary was fixed at £64 in 
money, instead of £70, payable in produce at a regu- 
lated price, called rate pay^ and which was not more 
valuable than the former sum. About the time of 
his marriage, £10 were added to his salary, and from 
thence to his decease he continued to receive £74 per 
annum. 

In 1674, the church advised in a difiiculty origi- 
nated in the church in Salem, by a movement to 
form a church at Lynn, which was amicably ad- 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 211 

justed, and in February, 1675, Mr. Hale assisted at 
the ordination of Mr. Joseph Gerrish, in Wenham. 

Mr. Hale was born at Charlestown, June 3, 1636, 
and was the son of Robert and Rebeckah Hale. His 
father emigrated from England, and became a mem- 
ber of the church in Charlestown between July and 
October, 1632, of which he was subsequently chosen 
deacon. He was made a freeman in 1634, was 
member of an artillery company in 1644, and in 
1659 held the office of ensign. Of the mother of 
John Hale but little is known, but when we con- 
sider the characters of those who descended from 
her for three successive generations, without other 
means of judging, we are led to very favorable in- 
ferences. 

Where Mr. John Hale pursued his preparatory 
studies is not known, but he graduated at Harvard 
College in 1657, at the age of twenty-one, and in 
1664, three years before his ordination, came to Bev- 
erly as a religious teacher. Previously to his settle- 
ment in the ministry, he was married to Rebeckah 
Byles, daughter of Henry Byles of Sarum, England, 
who emigrated to this country and settled in Salis- 
bury, Mass. as early as 1640.'^ She was the mother 
of two children — Rebeckah, who was born April 28, 
1666, and died May 7, 1681, aged 15 years, and 
Robert, born Nov. 3, 1668. Mrs. Hale died April 



* The mother of Rebeckah Byles, previous to her marriage with 
Henry Byles, was the widow of John Hall. After the death of Mr. 
Byles, she married Rev. William Worcester of Salisbury, Mass. 
She married for her fourth husband. Deputy Governor Samuel 
Symonds of Ipswich, and died July 21st, 1695, aged 78. She dis- 
tributed £100 to persons who lost by the great fire in Boston, and 
who suffered in the Indian wars about 1682. 



212 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

13, 1683, aged 45 years. Mr. Hale was again mar- 
ried March 3, 1684, to Mrs. Sarah Noyes, of New- 
bury, from tlie church in which place her relation 
was removed to the church in Beverly, the following 
October. By this marriage there were four children, 
viz. James, born Oct. 14, 1685 ; Samuel, born Aug. 
13, 1687; Joanna, born June 15, 1689, and John, 
born Dec. 24, 1692. 

James graduated at Harvard College in 1703, and 
was ordained to the ministry at Ashford, Conn. Nov. 
26, 1718, where he died in Oct. 1742, at the age of 
57. Samuel settled in Newbury, where he married 
Sophia Moody, May 2, 1714. He had three sons, 
Richard, John and Samuel, the former of whom 
settled in Coventry, Conn, and was the father of Na- 
than Hale, who was inhumanly executed by the 
British in the revolutionary war. John, the third 
son of Rev. Mr. Hale by the second marriage, settled 
at Gloucester. His mother died May 20, 1695, aged 
forty-one. 

Mr. Hale was a third time married in 1698, to 
Mrs. Elizabeth Clark of Newbury, who was received 
into the church in Beverly, by dismission and recom- 
mendation from the church in Newbury, Sept. 17, 
1699. He did not, however, continue long to enjoy 
her society. 

In 1690, when the expedition against Canada had 
been determined on, the General Court invited Mr. 
Hale to join it as chaplain. This invitation was 
submitted to his people, and though doubtless grati- 
fied with such evidence of the public estimate of 
their pastor, the}^ withheld their assent, and ap- 
pointed Samuel Corning, John Hill, Peter Woodber- 
ry, Thomas West, Nehemiah G rover and Andrew 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 213 

Elliot, '•' as a committee in behalf of the church and 
town of Beverly," to assign their reasons " to the 
honored court and council." These were : first, that 
by their pastor's absence they would •'• be as sheep 
without a shepherd." Second, they did not think 
his bodily strength adequate to such an expedition. 
Third, that being " thin of men, and men of con- 
duct" at that time, owing to the number engaged in 
" the present essay," and '^ liable to sufier by ene- 
mies," they desired the presence of their pastor " as 
a comforter and encourager in such a case." These 
objections do not appear to have had much weight 
with the Court, as the next day after their presenta- 
tion, it was " ordered, that the Rev. John Hale, Mr. 
John Wise, Mr. Grindal Rawson, and Mr. John 
Emerson, ministers of God's Word, be desired to 
accompany the General and forces, in the expedition 
against Canada, to carry on the worship of God in 
that expedition. "=^ 

What induced Mr. Hale to accept this invitation, 
contrary to the strongly expressed wish of his flock, 
is unknown. It is not improbable, that as a large 
number of his people were engaged in this enter- 
prize, he was anxious to accompany them that he 
might watch over their morals. In 1734 the General 
Court, in consideration of the time and service 
rendered, granted his heirs three hundred acres of 
land. 

In 1692 the witchcraft delusion broke out. It com- 
menced in Salem Village, in the family of Rev. Mr. 
Parris, whose child a physician declared to be under 
an evil hand — and spread with rapidity to several of 

* Provincial Records. 



214 HISTORY OF BEVEKLY. 

the adjacent towns. During this period the most 
extravagant fanaticism prevailed. Individuals free 
from any moral stain were accused on the most friv- 
olous pretences. Persons under infatuation, or to 
gain notoriety, or, as was not unfrequently the case, 
to gratify revenge, suddenly cried ont as in pain, 
and declared themselves tormented by unseen agents 
in distant places. Children eight years of age were 
encouraged to testify against their parents, and wives 
gave evidence against their husbands. If a poor, 
decrepid old woman could not weep when accused, 
through alarm or indignation, the fact v/as assumed 
as evidence of guilt. Rev. George Burroughs, a 
graduate of Harvard College, and for some time a 
minister in Salem Yillage, having exhibited feats of 
unusual strength, was accused of being aided by the 
prince of darkness, and was condemned and execu- 
ted. He died with christian composure ; and while 
on the ladder made a speech, and offered a prayer 
with such fervor as to affect many to tears. But 
this was charged upon him, by the procurers of his 
death, as proof of his intimacy with the devil ; and 
when cut down, his body was thrust into a hole with 
two others, and but partially covered. Giles Cory, 
at the age of eighty, was accused, and refusing to 
plead to the indictmeut, was condemned and crushed 
to death. Such was the general feeling, on the side 
of prosecutions, that accusation was almost the sure 
precursor of condemnation. Some of the judges, to 
increase their popularity, resorted to arts to entrap 
their unwary victims. And whenever the magis- 
trates were inclined to mercy, or acquitted one whom 
the popular voice had consigned to the scaffold, an 
indignant clamor burst forth. 

o 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 215 

Among the persons in this town, accused and con- 
demned, though not executed, were Dorcas Hoar. 
Sarah Morey, Susanna Rootes, and Job Tuckey. 
Sarah Morey was the daughter of Peter and Mary 
Morey. She was accused in May, 1692, and thrown 
into prison, where she remained until January fol- 
lowing, supported by her parents. Dorcas Hoar lay 
in prison eleven months, the charges of which v/ere 
defrayed by herself. Tuckey was a laborer, and 
probably was fond of exciting wonder by marvellous 
speeches. On the 4th Jane depositions were filed 
against him at Salem, by John Landers, Samuel and 
Daniel Bacon, John Stacy, and John Piidney, Jr. 
The charges were — first, that Tuckey declared that 
he could "as freely discourse with the devil'' as 
with him, the said Landers ; second, that the accused 
•'said he would take Mr. Burroughs' part;"' third, 
that the accused had "afflicted" Mary Warren, Ma- 
ry Walcot, and others. On the 7th June he was 
examined before Maj. Gedney. Mr. Hathorne, and 
Mr. Corwin, when two more accusers appeared, viz : 
Elizabeth Booth and Susanna Sheldon. They con- 
firmed the testimony of Stacy and Pudney, concern- 
ing Tuckey's afflicting Mary Warren. They further 
charged him with bewitching Betsey Hcavs, and with 
causing the death of Andrew Woodberry ; and also 
testified, that on a certain occasion they saw the 
apparitions of three men, three women and two chil- 
dren, "who all cried out for vengeance against 
Tuckey." ^ 

To this delusion, Mr. Hale, in common with the 
clergy and the principal public men of the day, ap- 

* Witchcraft papers, State archives. 



216 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

pears to have committed himself, so far at least as to 
attend the examinations and trials of accused per- 
sons, and participate in the religious services of those 
occasions. It is possible, that possessing, as Higgin- 
son observes, a mind of " singular prudence and 
sagacity, in searching into the narrows of things," 
he might have been present at these assemblies from 
a desire to investigate the merits of the various accu- 
sations, rather than with an intention to endorse the 
prevailing opinions. 

In October. 1692, a person in Wenham accused 
Mrs. Hale of witchcraft. This was giving the sub- 
ject an aspect he had not anticipated. But it effect- 
ually broke the spell. He knew her worth too well 
to believe for a moment that she could be in league 
with the '• powers of darkness." He was at once 
satisfied of her innocence ; and he could not but per- 
ceive that the reasons which, on maturer reflection, 
weighed with him in her case, lost none of their force 
when applied to others. And when convinced of the 
error into which he had fallen, he resolved, with an 
independence highly honorable to his character, to 
discard the prejudices of early education, and in the 
face of popular opinion, exert his powers to extin- 
guish a fanaticism that had already consigned twenty 
human beings to the scafl;bld. 

'' The whole community was convinced that the 
accusers, in crying out upon Mrs. Hale, had perjured 
themselves ; and from that moment their power was 
destroyed; the awful delusion ceased; the curtain 
fell, and a close was put to one of the most tremen- 
dous tragedies in the history of real life. The wild- 
est storm, perhaps, that ever raged in the moral 
world, instantly became a calm ; the tide that had 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 217 

threatened to overwhelm every thing m its fury, 
sunk back in a moment to its peaceful bed." =^' 

In 1697, Mr. Hale wrote a work entitled ''A mod- 
est inquiry into the nature of witchcraft, and how 
persons guilty of that crime may be convicted. ; and 
the means used for their discovery discussed, both 
negatively and affirmatively, according to scripture 
and experience." f In his preface he says, in a 
commendable spirit of acknowledgment, " I have 
had a deep sense of the sad consequences of mis- 
takes in matters capital, and their impossibility of 
recovering when completed ; and what grief of heart 
it brings to a tender conscience, to have been unwit- 
tingly encouraging of the sufferings of the innocent. 
And I hope a zeal to prevent, for the future, such 
sufferings, is pardonable, although there should be 
much weakness, and some errors, in the pursuit 
thereof I have special reasons moving me to bear 
my testimony about these matters, before I go hence 
and he no more ; the which I have here done, and I 
hope with some assistance of his spirit, to whom I 
commit myself and this my labor, even that God 
whose I am and tchoni I serve, desiring his mercy in 
Jesus Christ to pardon all the errors of his people in 
the day of darkness." 

* Upham's Lectures on Witchcraft, p. 23. 

t Referring to this work, Cotton Mather makes the following re- 
marks ; " I will assure the reader that he hath now to do with a 
writer who would not for a world be guilty of overdoing the truth in 
an history of this importance." " None can suspect a gentleman so 
full of dissatisfaction at the proceedings then used against supposed 
witchcrafts, as now that reverend person is, to be a superstitious 
writer on that subject." Magnalia, vol. ii. jjp. 408, 537, 

19 



218 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

Mr. Hale discusses the subject of witchcraft through 
179 pages 18mo., and m his closing chapter, after 
saying, " We have cause to be humbled for the mis- 
takes and errors which have been in these colonies, 
in their proceedings against persons for this crime, 
above forty years ago and downwards," he adds, 
" but I would come yet nearer to our own times, 
and bewail the errors and mistakes that have been 
in the year 1692 ; in the apprehending too many 
we may believe were innocent, and executing of 
some, I fear, not to have been condemned ; by fol- 
lowing such traditions of our fathers, maxim of the 
common law, and precedents and principles, which 
now we may see, weighed in the balance of the sanc- 
tuary, are found too light In the prosecution of 

witchcraft, we sought not the Lord after the due 
order ; but have proceeded after the methods used in 
former times and other places, until the Lord in this 
tremendous way made a breach upon us. And 
hereby we are made sensible, that the methods for- 
merly made use of are not sufficient to prove the 
guilt of such a crime." Mr. Hale palliates the con- 
duct of those who acted conspicuously in the trans- 
actions that gave rise to his volume. ''I am," he 
says, " abundantly satisfied, that those who were 
most concerned to act and judge in those matters, 
did not willingly depart from the rules of righteous- 
ness. But such was the darkness of that day, the 
tortures and lamentations of the afflicted, and the 
power of former precedents, that we walked in the 
clouds, and could not see our way." This is a deci- 
sion at which a charitable judgment, after the lapse 
of a century and a half, would naturally arrive. 
That all who participated in the witchcraft delusion, 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 219 

or that even the most intelligent of them, were ac- 
tuated by bad motives, is not to be supposed. Some- 
thing is to be allowed for the habits of thought and 
the tendencies to excessive superstition then preva- 
lent; and when we say '' learned men are not always 
wise," and that good men sometimes err, we but 
repeat the utterings of all past experience. And 
while the excesses of error and fanaticism in that 
awful drama are deplored, we should not lose sight 
of the redeeming traits in the character of the actors, 
nor should the palliating circumstances which charity 
suggests, be disallowed. 

To the little work of Mr. Hale's, from which the 
preceding extracts have been taken, is prefixed "an 
epistle to the reader," by Rev. John Higginson, of 
Salem, then at the advanced age of 82, recommend- 
ing it as a work which, from the " pious and modest 
manner" of the author, would "be generally ac- 
ceptable to all the lovers of truth and peace." The 
only other production of Mr. Hale's pen, known to 
have been published, is an election sermon, preached 
in 1684, before the State authorities. The text was, 
Haggai, ii. 4. 

Mr. Hale appears to have possessed an enlarged 
mind and a generous public spirit. In 1676, he di- 
rected the selectmen to appropriate £6 of his salary — 
nearly a twelfth part of the whole — to public uses, 
such as fortifications, ammunition, and country rates 
on account of the war. In 1683, he gave £5 towards 
erecting a house of worship ; and in 1690, he loaned 
the town £3 of the £48 borrowed of nineteen difierent 
persons, to purchase " great guns" and ammunition, 
and to pay for building a fort. Nothing appears to 
have occurred to afiect materially the prosperity of 



220 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

the church, during his protracted ministry of forty- 
seven years ; and that his worth was appreciated by 
his parishioners, the interest they manifested for his 
temporal comfort is conckisive evidence. He died 
May 15, 1700, aged 64. His grave-stone bears the 
following inscription. " Here lies the body of the 
Reverend Mr. John Hale, a pious and faithful min- 
ister of the gospel, and pastor of the first church of 
Christ in this town of Beverly, who rested from his 
labors on the 15th day of May, anno domini, 1700. 
in the 64th year of his age." 

On the 24th Feb. 1668, five months subsequent to 
Mr. Hale's settlement, the church made choice of 
Humphrey Woodberry to fill the ofiice of deacon, 
from which time to the present, nineteen persons 
have served in that capacity. As early as 1665, 
Henry Bailey filled the office of sexton, and his com- 
pensation was fixed at one peck of corn per annum 
from each householder. Of his fidelity, the best evi- 
dence is found in the fact, that when succeeded 
twenty years afterwards, 1680, by William Hoar, it 
was stipulated, that he should "do in all respects as 
Goodman Bailey had done," — the highest panegyrick 
that could have been pronounced on Mr. Bailey's 
character. At this time was commenced the practice 
of ringing the bell at 9 o'clock, for which additional 
duty Goodman Hoar found compensation in additional 
pecks of corn, derived from an increased number of 
families. The office of sexton, always indispensable, 
was peculiarly important at this period. Besides 
keeping the key of the meeting-house, ringing the 
bell, &c., it was made his particular duty to keep, 
and on the sabbath, turn the glass. The hour-glass, 
which the more convenient clock has displaced, was 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 221 

turned by him at the naming of the text in full view 
of the minister. If he completed his discourse "be- 
fore the sands had all run out, he was admonished 
that he had not compHed with the reasonable expect- 
ations of his hearers, whether sleeping or waking, — 
both classes having tacitly contracted for an hour's 
enjoyment in their own peculiar way. If his zeal 
inclined him to go beyond the standard measure, the 
turning of the glass by the faithful sexton reminded 
him that he was asking more of the patience of his 
hearers than they had tacitly agreed to give." But 
instances were not rare, in those days, when long 
sermons were less alarming than in this age of des- 
patch ; in which, as has been facetiously remarked, 
both preachers and hearers were well contented to 
take the second, and even the third glass together. 
Sexton Hoar was succeeded by Josiah Woodberry, 
1748, who served with fidelity forty-one years, and 
died in Dec. 1789. Wells Standley was appointed 
in 1790, and continued in office about seven years, 
when he died suddenly, 1797. Joshua Wallis, who 
succeeded him, fell down while ringing the bell for 
nine o'clock, and died immediately, of apoplexy, a 
month or two after his appointment. The present 
incumbent, Thomas Barrett, was appointed to office 
in June, 1797, forty-five years ago, and will long be 
remembered for the faithful traits which marked the 
character of Goodman Bailey. In March, 1842, 
Ezra Woodberry was associated with him as col- 
league. 

After the death of Mr. Hale, some difficulty ap- 
pears to have arisen in the church, the nature of 
which is not defined, but Avhich was amicably ad- 
justed through the intervention of Rev. Nicholas 
19^ 



222 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

Noyes and Rev. Joseph Gerrish. Immediately, how- 
ever, on the decease of Mr. Hale, measures were 
taken for '• procuring a suitable and meet person to 
labor in the ministry." An invitation to settle, as 
pastor, was given to Mr. Thomas Blowers, of Cam- 
bridge, which being accepted, he was ordained 
Oct. 29th, 1701. The sermon was preached by Mr. 
Clarke, of Salem Village (now Dan vers); Mr. Noyes, 
of Salem, gave the charge, and Mr. Cheever, of Mar- 
blehead, gave the right hand of fellowship. 

The salary of Mr. Blowers was £80, and £100 
settlement, and besides the ordinary services of the 
sabbath, he was required to preach a monthly lec- 
ture and "catechise" the children. Owing to the 
depreciation of bills of credit, additions were made 
to his salary, to save him from loss, and in 1728, it 
was fixed permanently at £140. In addition to this, 
he had the use of rights granted him in Bunker's 
meadow, in Topsfield, and in Snake Hill pasture. 

There are but few incidents recorded, to diversify 
the ministerial life of Mr. Blowers. At the time of 
his settlement; a public relation of religious experi- 
ence was required by the church ; but at a church- 
meeting, Jan. 11, 1727-8, it was unanimously voted 
to dispense with this practice, and to receive from the 
pastor some statement concerning the individuals 
propounded, before asking a vote for their admission. 
It does not appear that the relation of experiences in 
public was required during Mr. Hale's ministry, and 
it is conjectured that the agitation of this subject 
after his death was the occasion of the difficulty be- 
fore referred to, which delayed Mr. Blowers' settle- 
ment some time after his election by the parish. 

Aug. 21, 1705, Mr. Blowers attended a meeting of 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 223 

ministers at Salem, to consider the following ques- 
tion : •' What further steps are to be taken, that the 
councils may have due constitution and efficacy in 
supporting, preserving and well ordering the inter- 
ests of the church in the country." The meeting 
took up the question by recommendation of the 
convention in Boston the May preceding, and de- 
puted Messrs. Gerrish and Cheever to present their 
result to the general convention, to meet in Boston 
on the 13th September following. The proposals of 
a convention of ministers at Boston, for the consocia- 
tion of the congregational churches, in 1705, is record- 
ed at length, by Mr. Blowers, in the church record, 
with the names of the signers, though nothing ap- 
pears to show that he favored the project. These 
proposals are the more interesting from the move- 
ment of the Massachusetts General Association, in 
1814, to revive them, as the basis of another attempt 
to consociate the churches, and which, like that of 
1705, met with so much opposition as to induce the 
projectors to abandon it. 

In 1707, objections being made to the appointment 
of Mr. Leverett to the presidency of Harvard College 
on the ground of his being a layman, Mr. Blowers, 
with thirty-eight other clergymen, who were not in- 
fluenced by professional partiality, united in an ad- 
dress to Gov. Dudley, advocating the appointment.^ 

Sept. 27, 1716, Mr. Blowers and Mr. Chipman, 
minister of the second parish, united with others in 
forming an association of clergymen in Salem, which 
has continued to this day. 

Mr. Blowers was the son of Pyam and Elizabeth 

* Quincy's Hist. Harv. Col. vol. i. p. 505. 



224 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

Blowers, his mother being sister of the Hon. Andrew 
Belcher. He was born at Cambridge, Aug. 1, 1677, 
and graduated at Harvard College 1()95. The year 
subsequent to his settlement in the ministry, he was 
married to Emma Woodberry, of Beverly. His 
children were Pyam, Emma, Thomas, John, Eliza- 
beth and Andrew. One of his grandchildren, Hon. 
Sampson Salter Blowers, of Halifax, N. S. died in 
October, 1842, at the advanced age of one hundred 
years, — having, for a considerable period, been the 
senior surviving graduate of Harvard University. 

The term of Mr. Blowers' ministry was nearly 
twenty-eight years, and was closed by death, June 
17, 1729, in the fifty-second year of his age, after an 
illness of a few days. A notice of his decease, writ- 
ten on the day of his interment, says : ''He had 
frequently, of late, expressed an expectation of 
dying very speedily, though his state of health 
seemed much the same as for some time before, and 
without any extraordinary symptoms upon him. It 
is worthy of remark that, on the last Sabbath he was 
abroad (June 8), one of his sermons was on those 
words of Neh. x. 39, ' We will not forsake the house 
of our God,' and the other on Psalms x. 14, ' The 
poor committeth himself unto thee : thou art the 
helper of the fatherless.' On Friday following, he 
appeared more than commonly intent on his prepara- 
tions for the sabbath, studying upon those words, 
Acts xi. 33, ' And exhorted them all, that with pur- 
pose of heart they Avould cleave unto the Lord ;' but 
still under an apprehension that he should never 
preach the discourse. ' The thought,' (he said) ' was 
strangely impressed upon him at every head became 
to, that he should not live to preach it. And, alas ! 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 225 

it happened accordingly, for on the next morning he 
fell sick of the sickness whereof he died ; and though, 
after the first sudden shock of his distemper, which 
laid him in a dying posture, he had some revival for 
about two hours, yet he was, for the most part, in a 
manner v/hoUy speechless, and scarce able, but by 
signs, to explain his inward peace and good hope 
through grace. He has left behind him a good name, 
better than precious ointment and preferable to great 
riches ; the character of a very valuable man, a good 
scholar and excellent minister. He was a distin- 
guished example of warm devotion, of extensive 
goodness, meekness and sweetness of temper; of 
great stability in his principles and steadiness in his 
conduct ; a very faithful friend and obliging neigh- 
bor ; a most tender and kind husband and father ; a 
vigilant, prudent pastor and close, pathetic preacher ; 
had in great veneration among the associated pastors 
in the vicinity; highly esteemed by all his acquaint- 
ance, and universally beloved by his flock, who much 
lament their great loss." 

The parish appropriated £50 to defray funeral 
charges and erect a monument over his remains. In 
1818, a solid block of hammered granite was placed 
over his grave, covered with a slab of freestone 
bearing the following inscription: ''In memory of 
Rev. Thomas Blowers, obt. June 17th, 1729, in the 
28th year of his ministry.'' On removing the earth, 
to lay the foundation of this block, the bones were 
found perfect, but the coffin and grave-clothes were 
entirely decayed and mingled with the surrounding 
earth. 

The only publication from the pen of Mr. Blowers, 
of which information has been obtained, was a ser- 



226 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

mon on the death of Rev. Joseph Green, of Salem 
Village, 1715. He left, as a legacy to the church, a 
silver cup inscribed with his name, which is the old- 
est piece of plate, save one, now belonging to it. His 
dwelling-house was destroyed by fire in 1782. 

Mr. Blowers was succeeded by Mr. Joseph Champ- 
ney, who received and accepted a call within six 
months of his predecessor's decease. The first Thurs- 
day in December, 1729, was set apart as a season of 
humiliation and prayer for the divine blessing on the 
proceedings, and John Balch, Robert Woodberry, 
Dea. William Dodge, Dea. Benjamin Balch, John 
Thorndike, Israel Wood and Henry Herrick, were 
appointed a committee to invite the churches to assist 
at the ordination of Mr. Champney. Twenty pounds 
were also voted to defray the expense of the ordina- 
tion, and a committee was chosen to make provision 
for the clergy and others who were to assist on the 
occasion. December 10th, the ordination took place. 
Mr. Fisk offered the introductory prayer. Mr. Apple- 
ton preached the sermon. Mr. Barnard gave the 
charge, and Mr. Chipman the right hand of fellow- 
ship. 

Mr. Champney's salary was fixed at £110 in prov- 
ince bills of credit — the sum to rise or fall as the 
bills might fluctuate from time to time. A free con- 
tribution was also to be kept up for him during his 
continuance in the work of the ministry. His settle- 
ment was £200 in province bills of credit, one half 
to be paid in one year and the remainder in two 
years. As in the case of Mr. Blowers, it became 
a part of his duty to preach a monthly lecture and 
catechise the children. 

The difficulties which existed in the first church 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 227 

in Salem for several years after the settlement of Mr. 
Champney, excited considerable interest in the church 
under his pastoral care. These difficulties began in 
the ministry of Mr. Fisk, between him and a respect- 
able minority of his church and congregation. Mr. 
Fisk maintained the independency of each church, 
and denied the right of other churches to interfere by 
council or otherwise, unless solicited by the church 
to be counselled or advised. In this position he Avas 
sustained by a majority of his people, and set at de- 
fiance council after council gathered from the whole 
colony, and holding their imposing meetings on the 
spot. The excitement in Salem led to debates and 
discussions here; and taking the records for evidence, 
no subject, from the organization of the church, ever 
engaged more attention. For reasons connected with 
this controversy, probably, the church in 1736 de- 
clined assisting at the ordination of John Sparhawk. 
These discussions in Mr. Champney's church led 
to the consideration of the principles of its own eccle- 
siastical government, and a meeting was called -'to 
look into the church covenant and the ancient foun- 
dation of the church." At this meeting, March 31, 
1734-5, after considerable debate, the church voted, 
by a very small majority, to acknowledge the plat- 
form as the rule of government and discipline. At 
an adjourned meeting the 14th April following, 
that vote was unanimously reconsidered, and a com- 
mittee chosen '' to peruse and examine the plat- 
form, and to report such explanations of any part of 
it as they might think proper." This committee con- 
sisted of Robert Hale, chairman, and ten others, and 
on the 9th of June, 1735, they reported that the 
church should accept the platform, reserving the lib- 



228 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

erty of receiving certain articles in theii^ oivn sense, 
which report was accepted. From these proceedings, 
it appears that the Cambridge platform, so often 
referred to by Congregational churches as an author- 
ity in matters of ecclesiastical government, was not 
in any sense received by the first church in this town, 
until about sixty-eight years after its formation, and 
then only with modifications and exceptions — a fact 
of considerable importance in the history of the 
churches in Massachusetts. 

In 1736, unsuccessful attempts were made to choose 
ruling elders according to the provisions of the plat- 
form, and the subject was finally abandoned. In 
1737, the church by its pastor and messengers, assist- 
ed at the ordination of Mr. James Diman over the 
second church and parish in Salem ; and again in 
1745, assisted in a council held in Salem, to consider 
some new difficulty in the first church. In 1740, and 
again in 1770, the celebrated George Whitefield 
passed through the country, and excited a great 
deal of unpleasant feeling (for which he afterward 
expressed his regret) by the rudeness with which he 
assailed the clergy. The usefulness of his itinerant 
labors were variously estimated, and Mr. Champney 
is understood to have concurred with those who were 
opposed to the course pursued by him. Between 
1735 and 1749, the bills of credit in which Mr. 
Champoey's salary was paid, became less valuable, 
and various sums were added, besides several special 
grants. In 1749, the last year of paper-money, the 
parish voted him £660 old tenor ; and in 1750, they 
voted him £90 lawful money, which sum he re- 
ceived annually, with few exceptions, to the time of 
his death. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 229 

In 1772, Mr. Joseph Willard received and accepted 
a call to settle as colleague with Mr. Champney. 
£200 settlement was voted him, and a salary of 
£100, to be increased to £120 after Mr. Champney's 
decease. The ordination took place Nov. 25th, The 
churches invited, were the first and second churches 
in Cambridge, the three churches in Boston, of which 
Dr. Elliot, Dr. Cooper, and Mr. Howard were pas- 
tors, the second church in Scarborough, the church 
in Stafford, the first and second churches in Salem, 
the second church in Danvers, the churches in Wen- 
ham and Manchester, and the second church in 
Beverly. The Rev. Samuel Cook of Cambridge, 
offered the introductory prayer; Rev. Andrew Elliot 
of Boston, preached the sermon from 2 Tim. iv. 2, 
"Preach the word;" Rev. Nathaniel Appleton of 
Cambridge, offered the prayer of ordination, and 
gave the charge; Rev. James Diman prayed after 
the charge, and Rev. Nathan Holt of Danvers, gave 
the right hand of fellowship. 

Mr. Champney died Feb. 23, 1773, less than three 
months after the settlement of Mr. Willard, in the 
69th year of his age, and the forty-fourth of his 
ministry. The parish voted to defray the expenses 
of his funeral, to erect a monument over his grave, 
and to pay his widow the whole of his salary for 
the current year. In 1818, the monument over his 
grave was repaired by direction of the first parish. 
Mr. Champney was born in Cambridge. He was 
early sent to Harvard College, where he w^as class- 
mate of Col. Robert Hale. He took his degree in 
1721 and 1724, and devoted himself to the study of 
divinity. He served the people of his charge with- 
out interruption till the last year of his life, when 
20 



230 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

his labors were suspended by a general decay. An 
affectionate regard for the people, which manifested 
itself both in their prosperity and adversity ; a readi- 
ness to serve them upon all occasions ; a peaceable 
temper and behavior, and a steady, prudent con- 
duct, distinguished his ministry, and gained him the 
love and esteem of all. His life appeared to be that 
of a sincere Christian, and its close was serene. He 
was a kind and affectionate husband, and a tender 
and faithful father. He was of medium stature, light 
complexion, of social habits, and, as was customary 
with clergymen of his time, wore a wig and cocked 
hat. 

Mr. Champney was married Oct. 1, 1730, to Eliz- 
abeth, daughter of his predecessor, Mr. Blowers. 
She survived the birth of her son Joseph but a short 
time, and died Jan. 13, 1731, aged 19 years 3 
months. His second wife was Thankful Pick- 
ens of Lynn, to whom he was married in 1733. 
She survived him, and died July 31, 1777, aged 71. 
The children by this marriage were — Richard, who 
died young, Richard, Israel, Sarah, Elizabeth and 
Thomas. Elizabeth is well remembered as the faith- 
ful and exemplary schoolmistress. She was for 
many years without a rival, the best female teacher 
in the town, and three successive generations par- 
took of her care. Under her guidance, many of the 
ladies who now move in the important spheres of 
wives and mothers, in this town and elsewhere, 
commenced their education. She died unmarried, 
April 23, 1806, aged about 66. 

The first person admitted to the church by Mr. 
Champney was William Ellingwood, Aug. 9, 1730. 
The first baptism was Anna, daughter of Robert and 
Precilla Woodberry, Dec. 14, 1729. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 231 

The call of Mr. Willard was not entirely unani- 
mous, and after his settlement the minority peti- 
tioned to be set off as a distinct parish, but the rea- 
sons appearing insufficient, the request was not 
granted. At this time a strong feeling existed con- 
cerning what is known as the Arminian controversy. 
Mr. Willard was supposed to lean to the Arminian 
view, and with many, supposition was equivalent to 
proof. One of his parishioners, not minutely versed 
in polemics or skilled in technical theology, alarmed 
at his apprehended unsoundness of opinions, came to 
him one day, and among other things informed him 
that he was reported to be a musk-melon, meaning 
probably Arminian ! Mr. Willard facetiously re- 
plied, that the report could not be true, for if it were, 
he should have been eaten up a long time before. 
Some serious explanations followed, and the conver- 
sation resulted in making a firm friend of one who 
was on the point of being settled in opposition. 

Mr. Willard, like his predecessors, experienced the 
evils of a fluctuating currency. From £420 to 
£3000, were at various times voted in payment of 
his salary of £120, and yet his losses by depreciation 
were not fully repaired. In 1779, he memorialized 
the parish on the subject, showing that the extra 
grants had not equalled the depreciation, and in con- 
sequence he had been obliged to expend a part of his 
settlement for his support. On the 7th Aug. 1780, 
he presented a statement to the parish meeting, 
which, as it affords a practical view of the monetary 
condition of the times, is presented entire. 

'• Brethren : I present to you some calculations to 
save you trouble, and help your minds in determin- 
ing what is just, this afternoon. In these calcula- 
tions I have compared the prices of some of the most 



232 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

necessary articles of living, throngh June and July 
last past, with what they were before the war, by 
which it will appear how much the articles have 
multiplied in their prices. Before the present war, 
corn, per bushel, 3s. 4d. ; veal, in the summer, per 
lb., 3d. ; butter, per lb., 8d. ; wood, per cord, at the 
wharves in summer, highest, 13s. 4d. The cost of a 
bushel of corn, a pound of veal, a pound of butter, 
and a cord of wood, 17s. 7d. June and July, 1780, 
corn, $60 per bushel, is £18 ; veal, $5 per lb., is £1, 
10s. Od. ; butter, $15 per lb., is £4. 10s. Od. ; wood, 
the very lowest, j|300 per cord, is £90. The cost of 
a bushel of corn, a pound of veal, a pound of butter, 
and a cord of wood, £114. By this it appears that 
the price of the necessaries of living are a little more 
than 129 for 1. That is, $129 would not purchase, 
through June and July past, more than $1 would 
before the war. Leaving out the article of wood, 
and making the calculation upon the three others, it 
will make almost 113 for 1. If we take the neces- 
sary articles of clothing into the account, we shall 
find an estimate surpassing the first. But even if 
the lowest estimate is taken, it will be found I have 
not had in value quite £27 of the last half year's sal- 
ary, which should be £60, so that it has fallen short 
more than half The parish voted me but 50 for 1, 
which not being assessed till the latter part of May, 
it has been gathered, received and made use of, when 
money has been of the above low value. What, 
therefore, may be reasonably expected, is, that the 
parish, at their meeting, should vote a sum to 
make up the deficiency of the past half year's sal- 
ary, as well as to determine what may be just to 
raise for the half year of which between two and 
three months are past." The next year, Mr. Wil- 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 233 

lard requested the parish to fix his salary upon the 
necessaries of life, to be regulated according to prices 
every three months, which was complied with, as 
was also a request to hire him a house. 

After a peaceful ministry of nine years, marked 
by mutual confidence and alfection, Mr. Willard was 
called, by a unanimous vote of the overseers, to the 
presidency of Harvard University. This election, 
after "prayerful consideration, weighing things on 
every side, and consulting the most judicious per- 
sons," he felt it his duty to accept. Nov. 19, 1781, 
he addressed a communication to the parish on the 
subject, and requested their consent to his dismissal 
from the pastoral office. The same request had been 
previously made of the church, which '-concluded 
not to act as a separate body, but as a part of the 
parish." This communication was referred to a 
committee, who reported as follows: "That it is 
with the greatest reluctance that we think of con- 
senting to our pastor's leaving us, with whom we 
have lived happily for so long a season ; and when 
we think of the difficulties that may attend a re-set- 
tlement among us, should he go from us, our minds 
cannot but be much affected. Yet, when we con- 
sider that our pastor is invited to a station of very 
great importance, and where he may be much more 
extensively useful to the churches of Christ than if 
he were to continue to minister to a single church 
and parish, we fear to withhold our consent, lest we 
should be found to be contending against Providence. 
We therefore, though with pain, give him up for the 
sake of the public, and ardently wish, when invested 
with the president's office, that he may be a rich 
blessing to the world." This report was accepted ; 
20=^ 



234 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

and Dec. 30, 1781, Mr. Willard publicly took leave 
of the first church and congregation, in a discourse 
from Acts xx. 32. " And now, brethren, I commend 
you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is 
able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance 
among all them which are sanctified." Subsequent- 
ly, on petition, as it appears was customary in such 
cases, the parish received £100 from the treasury of 
the Commonwealth, to aid in defraying the expense 
of settling another pastor. 

Mr. Willard was born at Biddeford, Me., Dec. 29, 
1738, and was son of Rev. Samuel Willard, and 
grandson of Vice President Willard. He was grad- 
uated at Harvard College in 176-5, in which he was 
subsequently a tutor about six years. Soon after his 
ordination, he was married to Miss Mary Sheafe, an 
accomplished lady, and of a distinguished family in 
Portsmouth, N. H. His children, born in this town, 
were Sophia, Augustus, Mary, and Sidney, who was 
a professor in Harvard College for many years. He 
continued to preside over the college for nearly twen- 
ty-three years, and died at New Bedford, Sept. 25th, 
1804, in the 66th year of his age. He was particu- 
larly distinguished for his acquaintance with clas- 
sical literature, and with astronomical and mathe- 
matical science. His attainments in Greek learning 
have been equalled by few. At the head of the uni- 
versity, he mingled paternal tenderness with strict 
authority ; and by his dignified person and deport- 
ment, united with candor, generosity and benevo- 
lence, he secured at the same time respect and affec- 
tion. " His unbending integrity," says one who 
knew him intimately, and who was associated in 
college government with him, "his patience and fi- 
delity in duty, his claims to professional and literary 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 235 

respect and confidence, gave him a high rank among 
the worthies, guardians and guides of that genera- 
tion." ^ 

As a minister of the gospel, he was less anxious to 
display his critical learning than to impart the most 
useful instruction. He made doing good the great 
ohject of his sacred office: and his piety, which was 
equally remote from superstition or overwrought en- 
thusiasm, was manifested by his resignation to the 
will of God under pains and afilictions, and by his 
constant exertions to promote the interests of reli- 
gion. His publications were : a thanksgiving sermon, 
1783, a sermon at the ordination of Joseph McKean, 
17S5, a sermon on the death of Timothy Hilliard, 
1790, a sermon at the ordination of Hezekiah Pack- 
ard, 1793, a Latin address on the death of George 
Washington, 1800, and several mathematical and 
astronomical communications in the Memoirs of the 
American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 

After the removal of Mr. Willard, the pulpit re- 
mained vacant more than three years, during which 
time it was supplied by Rev. Messrs. Bentley, Motee, 
Mellen, D wight, Story, Lock wood and White. Mr. 
Story received an invitation to settle, which he de- 
clined ; and Dec. 6th, 1784, a unanimous call was 
given to Mr. Joseph McKean, which he accepted, 
and his ordination took place May 11th, 1785. On 
this occasion. Rev. Phillips Payson made the intro- 
ductory prayer ; Rev. Joseph Willard preached the 
sermon, from 2 Tim. i. 7, " For God hath not given 
us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and 
of a sound mind ; " Rev. Joseph Swain, of Wen ham, 

* Rev. Dr. Thayer, in his published sermon at the ordination of 
his son, Rev. C. T. Thayer. 



236 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

made the ordaining prayer and gave the charge : 
Rev. Thomas Barnard, of Salem, gave the right hand 
of fellov\^ship, and Rev. Nathan Hoh, of Danvers, 
made the conckiding prayer. 

Mr. McKean's salary was £200, and his settlement 
£300. In 1801, an addition of |200 was made to 
the former. In 1802, he received, and after mature 
consideration, accepted an invitation to become the 
first president of Bowdoin College, at Brunswick. 
Me. Previously to his acceptance, he laid the sub- 
ject before the parish and church, and requested a 
dismission from the pastoral office. This request, 
after serious deliberation, was granted, though the 
greatest reluctance was expressed to part with a pas- 
tor and teacher, with whom they had so long lived 
in harmony, love and friendship. 

Rev. Joseph McKean was born in Londonderry, 
N. H., Oct. 15, 1757. His immediate ancestors were 
from the north of Ireland, though of Scotch descent. 
He was graduated at Dartmouth College, in 1774, 
and in the summer of 1780, resided at Cambridge, 
pursuing the studies of astronomy and mathematics, 
for which he had a decided predilection. For several 
years he taught a school in his native town, and was 
for some time an assistant in Phillips' Academy, at 
Andover. He early directed his attention to the 
ministry, in which profession he continued about 
seventeen years, when he Avas called to the presi- 
dency of Bowdoin College. He continued in this 
office until his death, which occurred July 15, 1807, 
in the 50th year of his age, leaving the seminary 
over which he presided, in a very flourishing con- 
dition. 

From his early youth Mr. McKean was strong and 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 237 

athletic, able to support fatigue and endure hardship; 
and in his youth and long after, excelled in all the 
manly exercises to which the active and hardy ^^eo- 
manry of our country were then accustomed. In 
the year succeeding his settlement in the ministry 
here, he was married to Alice Anderson, of London- 
derry, N. H. The children by this marriage, were 
Joseph, Nancy, John, Mary, Alice, Margaret, James 
and Alice. Mr. McKean was of cheerful temperament, 
and devoted himself with unwearied industry to the 
promotion of science and religion, while his talents 
and unostentatious piety gave him an honorable 
rank among the distinguished men of the day. " He 
had, from his youth," says an intimate friend, "a 
respect for the genuine simplicity and unassuming 
worth that distinguished other times. A puritan in 
heart, he was, hov/ever, the gentleman in manners. 
His knowledge of the world, and the peculiar sweet- 
ness of his disposition, rendered him accommodating 
to all. Though naturally reserved, perhaps, he was 
yet communicative in confidential intercourse and 
in the exercise of his ofiice. A stranger to deceit, 
his language was ever the expression of his feelings, 
sincere though guarded, warm and animated, but 

never extravagant His peculiar excellency 

seemed to be a sound, discriminating judgment 

Fie was a humble pupil of the Redeemer, and his 
life will rank among the most consistent, simple and 
impressive examples of the efficacy of his faith." ^ 

Besides some papers in the Transactions of the 

American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Mr. Mc 

Kean published an election sermon, in 1801, a sermon 

at the ordination of Rev. Rufus Anderson, at North 

* Eulogy on Rev. Joseph McKean, by William Jenks, D.D. 



238 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

Yarmouth, a sermon at the ordination of Rev. Mr. 
Moore, at Newbury, three sermons on occasions of 
public fasting and prayer, and the address delivered by 
him at his inauguration. The fast sermon of April 9th. 
1801, is remembered by many now living. Its subject 
was, speaking evil of rulers j and though suggested 
by the political events of the time, and delivered at a 
period of strong political feeling, the discourse was 
generally well received, extensively read, and doubt- 
less exerted a favorable influence on the public mind. 

After hearing several candidates, a call v/as given 
to and accepted by Rev. Abiel Abbot, who was in- 
stalled Dec. 13, 1803. On this occasion, the intro- 
ductory prayer was offered by Rev. Ezra Ripley, of 
Concord ; sermon by Rev. T. M. Harris, of Dorches- 
ter; installing prayer by Rev. Mr. Fuller, of Glou- 
cester ; charge by Rev. Mr. Clark, of Lexington ; 
right hand of fellowship by Rev. Moses Dow, of 
Beverly ; concluding prayer b}?- Rev. Dr. Barnard, 
of Salem. 

Dr. Abbot was born in Andover, Mass., August 
17th, 1770, and from a pious mother early received 
religious principles and impressions, which in subse- 
quent life imparted increasing lustre to his piety. 
His preparatory studies Avere pursued at Phillips* 
Academy, under the direction of the celebrated Dr. 
Pemberton, during which time he occupied the first 
rank in his class. He entered Harvard University 
in 1788, and graduated in 1792, with distinguished 
honors. His literary reputation procured for him 
the appointment to deliver the oration before the 
society of Phi Beta Kappa, in 1800, when he chose 
for his subject, "A review of the 18th century." 

Soon after leaving college, he was employed as an 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 239 

assistant in Phillips' Academy, Exeter, N. H., and 
afterwards as principal of Phillips' Academy, An- 
dover, during which time he pursued his theological 
studies with Rev. Jonathan French. In 1794, he 
commenced preaching at Haverhill, and having ac- 
cepted a unanimous call, was ordained June 3, 1795. 
His ministry here was harmonious and successful ; 
and when, in 1803, he felt it his duty to ask a dis- 
mission, he received from the church and society the 
most ample testimonials of unabated love and re- 
spect. Previous to his settlement in this town, he 
was solicited to preach as a candidate in the Brattle- 
street society, Boston, and proposals were also made 
to him from a society in Providence, both of which 
he declined. His ministry in Beverly was com- 
menced under the disadvantage of debility, and his 
introductory sermon, from the words '' We ail do 
fade as a leaf," was delivered under the conscious- 
ness that it might be his last. His health was never 
firm, having sustained a shock at the age of four- 
teen, by inconsiderately thrusting his arm into a 
cold spring in the heat of a summer's day. But 
with an ardent mind, bent on high degrees of useful- 
ness, the effects of his labors were early visible in 
the increased seriousness of his congregation. In 
1804, he writes, " My labors have been apparently 
blest more than in any former period. The serious 
of the society have expressed to me their joy and 
gratulation ; the whole assembly appears more sol- 
emn and attentive and full than formerly." In 1805, 
he writes, '• The additions to the church in less than 
a year have been nearly fifty, and they seem to 
adorn their profession." His style of preaching was 
practical, close of application to the heart and con- 



240 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

duct, and was eminently successful, because often 
founded on circumstances in the experience of those 
whom he addressed. 

In 1806, he commenced delivering a course of expos- 
itory lectures, in the town-hall, on the history and doc- 
trines of Christ, which were so numerously attended as 
to render it necessary to repair to the church. In 1809, 
he delivered the annual discourse at Plymouth in 
commemoration of the landing of the Pilgrims, which 
was published. The summer of 1810 was marked 
as a season of religious interest in his society, and 
his acknowledged ardor in the cause of practical 
rehgion procured for him at this time the expressions 
of affection and tenders of ministerial exchanges 
from those from whom he differed materially in many 
speculative points of religion. His health becoming 
seriously affected in 1818, he yielded to medical ad- 
vice, and sought its renovation in the more genial 
clime of the south. He sailed for Charleston, Octo- 
ber 28th, at which port he arrived November 9th, 
after a tempestuous passage, and was cordially receiv- 
ed by many friends who were waiting his arrival. 
The winter and succeeding spring were spent in 
South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia, where he 
formed numerous acquaintances, from whom he re- 
ceived the kindest attentions, and returned home with 
hopes of health realized. 

The season of ministerial life which followed his 
return, is to be considered, perhaps, the most labori- 
ous and successful of his life. His preaching was 
much enforced by considerations peculiar to Christi- 
anity. A partiality for authors of the class of Bax- 
ter and Doddridge, produced a tinge of thought and 
expression which gave interest to his sermons, and 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY, 



241 



led to what he deemed a more useful impression, 
without the adoption of those pecuHarities which he 
might not approve. Whenever he deviated from the 
accustomed manner of his preaching, and assumed 
topics bordering on the region of controversial discus- 
sion, it was with the fixed design rather of " preach- 
ing up his own sentiments, than of preaching down 
the sentiments of other men." The principal aim of 
his discourses, however, was to produce serious im- 
pressions on the minds of his hearers, and to lead them 
to self-inspection rather than to investigating the 
errors and censuring the motives of others. 

In 1818, he preached the Dudlian lecture at Cam- 
bridge, and received the degree of Doctor in Divinity 
in 1821. After several years of unremitting labor, 
he found himself obliged in 1827 to leave his charge 
and resort once more to the south for the recovery of 
his health. He sailed from Boston October 2Sth, and 
arrived at Charleston November 6th, from which 
place he addressed an interesting and affectionate 
letter to his church and congregation. He does not 
appear to have been sangaine of the favorable results 
of this voyage. On a visit made to him at his re- 
quest by a ministering brother, a few days before his 
departure, " at a time when the heart has no disguise, 
and the soul is anxious to utter all that it deems true 
and kind, important and useful, he thus addressed 
him; (evidently with a wish that it should be remem- 
bered and at a fit time communicated.) — • I believe 
the hour of my departure is at hand ; how near I 
cannot say, but not far distant is the time when I 
shall be in the immediate presence of my Maker. 
This impression leads me to look back upon my life 
and inwardly upon my present state. In the review 
21 



242 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

I find many things to be humbled and penitent for, 
and many things to fill me with gratitude and praise. 
I have, I trust, the testimony of my heart, that my 
life, my best powers, my time, and my efforts, have 
in the main been sincerely given to God and to man- 
kind. Of all the years of my life, the present, in the 
review, gives me most pleasure. You know my 
recent plans and labors, and the design of them : [al- 
luding to discourses delivered before the convention, 
of ministers, and at the ordination of Rev. A. Abbot, 
and to certain contributions to a religious publication, 
the Christian Visitant, whose object coincided with 
his views, and to extend the circulation of which he 
was making great efforts.] In these, I have endeav- 
ored to check the spirit of contention among Christ- 
ians, and, as a disciple of the Prince of Peace, to 
diffuse the spirit of love and peace, to inspire Christ- 
ians with a warmer zeal for the great object of 
religion. The efTorts were great. My health and 
perhaps my life are the sacrifice. If the Lord will, 
be it so. If ever I faithfully served him, it was in 
these services. If ever I felt prepared for death, it 
was when they were finished. If ever I knew and 
felt the delightful import of that passage, — / mn now 
ready to he offered and the time of my dejmrture is at 
hand; I have fought a good fight^ I have finished my 
course. I have kept the faith ^ tj^c, it was then, and it 
is now. In my bosom there is peace. Whether life 
or death be before me, all is welL I can say^ the ivill 
of the Lord be done. With the greatest serenity he 
alluded to the expected issue of his disorder, and 
seemed filled with a good hope through grace of 
eternal life." 

The forebodings of death were soon realized, yet 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 243 

not without some encouraging symptoms of return- 
ing health. Faihng to reahze the hopes of anxious 
friends, he sailed in February for the still milder 
climate of Cuba, from which place he wrote a series 
of interesting letters that have since been published. 
During his residence here his health apparently im- 
proved, and he indulged a hope that he might be 
spared to labor a little longer in the vineyard of his 
master. Anxious to return home, he embarked for 
Charleston, where he arrived Saturday morning, 
May 31st, and spent the day in calling on numerous 
friends. On Sunday morning he attended Rev. Mr. 
Oilman's church, and partook of the sacrament. In 
the afternoon, though complaining of the weariness 
produced by the exertions of the day before, he 
preached with great animation from the words, 
'' God said let there be light," and fixed the atten- 
tion of his audience by contrasting the spiritual 
darkness of the region he had just left behind, with 
the light with which our own country is favored. 

On Monday he embarked in the Othello for New 
York. A few days out he showed signs of illness, 
unattended by any alarming symptoms. On Satur- 
day morning, though still languid, he rose early, 
dressed himself, and went on deck. After reclining 
in the cabin a short time, he went on deck again 
with assistance, where a cloak and pillows had been 
spread for him. After resting a few moments, he 
walked supported by the arm of a friend, twelve 
times across the deck. His respiration was observed 
to be burdened and difficult, which was at the time 
ascribed to the bracing effect of the fresh air. But 
immediately on sitting down, he was attacked with 
bleeding. He begged his friends not to be alarmed, 



244 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

said he was aware that his old spring complaints had 
returned with violence, and requested that his wife 
and family might be prepared to see him return in 
still feebler health than that in which he left them. 
He afterwards expressed the hope that he should be 
able to write himself As he grew gradually fainter 
from the loss of blood, he was asked by one of the 
passengers, if he felt alarmed 7 " No," he replied, 
" I am in the hands of God, and I trust he will take 
care of me." The hemorrhage increasing, he said 
no more, but raising his eyes to heaven, and breath- 
ing the intense language of mental devotion, the 
pure spirit freed itself of the body, the countenance 
as serene and peaceful as when he had that morning 
been seen asleep in his birth. His remains were in- 
terred on Staten Island, and an appropriate funeral 
service was performed by Rev. Mr. Miller. Thus, 
in the twenty-fourth year of his ministry in this 
town, and in the 57th year of his age, was taken to 
his rest an eloquent, learned, affectionate and faith- 
ful minister of the gospel. On the intelligence of 
his death at Beverly, the bells were tolled, a mourn- 
ful silence perv^aded the streets, customary business 
was in many instances suspended, and the pulpit 
and church clothed in black for forty days. Appro- 
priate public services were performed at the request 
of the parish, and a discourse delivered by Rev. Dr. 
Flint of Salem, in which the characteristic qualities 
of the deceased were portrayed with a discriminat- 
ing and affecting power. 

Dr. Abbot was married in 1796, to Miss Eunice, 
eldest daughter of Ebenezer Wales, Esq. of Dor- 
chester. In the commencement of his ministry he 
entertained a belief in the Trinity, but on this sub- 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 245 

ject his views altered, and the fundamental princi- 
ples of Unitarian belief became the objects of his 
decided conviction. His publications consist of eight 
sermons preached on particular occasions, an eulogy 
on the character of Washington, a discourse at 
Plymouth on the 188th anniversary of the landing 
of our forefathers, a temperance address, discourses 
on Baptism, a volume of sermons to mariners, the 
Parent's Assistant and Sunday-school book, an ad- 
dress before the Berry street conference, and a vol- 
ume of letters from Cuba. After his decease a vol- 
ume of his sermons was published, to which is pre- 
fixed a memoir of the author. From that memoir, 
the preceding notice has been principally compiled. 

Dr. Abbot was succeeded by the present minister. 
Rev. Christopher T. Thayer, of Lancaster, a gradu- 
ate of Harvard University, who was ordained Jan. 
27, 1830. The services of his ordination were as 
follows : introductory prayer and reading the scrip- 
tures.^ by Rev. Mr. Loring; sermon by Rev. Dr. 
Thayer, father of the pastor elect ; ordaining prayer 
by Rev. Dr. Lowell ; charge by Rev. Dr. Bancroft ; 
right hand of fellowship by Rev. Mr. Lothrop ; ad- 
dress to the society by Rev. Dr. Flint; concluding 
prayer by Rev. Mr. Bartlett. 

Having thus completed the history of the several 
former ministers in the first parish, we return to no- 

* The scriptures were first publicly read in the first church, May 
2d, 1773, about which time the copy now in use was purchased. It 
is a folio volume, and was printed in London by Thomas Baskett, 
1759. It contains, besides the canonical books of the old and new 
Testament, the apocrypha, the liturgy of the Church of England, 
including the Psalter, the whole of Psalms set to metre by Sternhold 
& Hopkins, a copious index, and a concordance by John Downan. 
21^ 



246 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

tice its houses of worship. The first was erected in 
1656, near the old burial-ground, and not far from 
the site of the first parish vestry. Of its dimensions 
there is no account. This house was vai:iously 
altered from time to time, for the accommodation of 
an increasing congregation. In 1671, liberty was 
granted to certain females wanting seats, to build 
three at their own charge. Richard Brackenbury 
and Samuel Corning, sen. "had leave to make a 
seat at the north end of the pulpit," and Mrs. Hale, 
the pastor's wife, had "liberty to make a seat where 
she now sitteth, it not being prejudicial to the rest." 
A gallery was also authorized to be built on the east 
side of the meeting-house, and Humphrey Wood- 
berry, John West and John Raiment, who undertook 
the work, were " to have each of them a seat in the 
fore-seat for their trouble." In 1672, " it was agreed 
that the meeting-house be ceiled up to the wall- 
plates, rabbitted, and the windows glazed." Mrs. 
Lothrop likewise " had liberty to make a seat con- 
venient by the chief pillar." 

This house continued to be used about twenty-five 
years, when the parish having so increased in num- 
bers as to render it inadequate for their accommoda- 
tion, it was sold with the exception of the pulpit, 
for £7. 10s, and in 1682 a new house was erected, 
fifty feet in length and forty feet in width. It stood 
on the site occupied by the first parish meeting-house 
at the present time, and the terms of contract for 
building were " £370 in silver, the one half to be paid 
at the raising, and the other half at the delivery of 
the key; otherwise £550, the one half in Indian 
corn, and the other half in pork at prices current, 
the one half to be paid at the next May day, and 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 



247 



the other at Michelmas." This house, Hke the first, 
was used for the transaction of pubhc business, and 
besides the alterations and improvements made at 
various times, a powder room was built in it in 
1727, for the safe-keeping of the ammunition belong- 
ing to the town.=^ 




In 1753, the population of the parish was about 
1300 souls, and a necessity was felt for the enlarge- 
ment of the meeting-house, or the building of anoth- 
er. The house was examined by a committee, who 
made a report adverse to enlarging, and recommend- 
ed building. This question was agitated about nine 
years ; and June 27, 1770, the house was taken 
down to make room for the third, having stood near- 
ly eighty-nine years. While destitute of a house of 
worship, divine service was attended under a large 
mulberry tree in front of Mr. Champney's house, at 



* As fires at this time were never kindled in the meeting-house, 
it was considered the safest place to deposit powder. The sacred- 
ness of the place did not, however, allay the fears of the congrega- 
tion, who left the house whenever a thunder-shower occurred. 



248 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

the north-east corner of the common, near the burial- 
ground. 

The third meeting-house was erected under the 
superintendence of Henry Herrick, James Wood- 
berry, Joseph Corning, Samuel Goodridge, and Lar- 
kin Thorndike. It was 70 feet long, 53 feet wide, 
and 28 feet stud. The tower at the westerly end 
was 15 feet square, and the porch at the eastern end 
14 feet square. Two rows of pews, sixty in number, 
were built round the wall, on the floor of the house ; 
and the area, separated in the centre by an aisle run- 
nmg from the front door to the pulpit, was filled with 
free seats, for the accommodation of those who did 
not choose to sit in pews. The pulpit was on the 
north side of the house, opposite " the great door;" 
beneath it was the elders' seat, and lower still the 
deacons' seat. The gallery contained twenty-seven 
wall pews, and seats were appropriated for the ac- 
commodation of colored persons. The cost of the 
house was about £1300, or $4,333,33. Pews were 
subsequently built, from time to time, until 1795, 
when the house was enlarged, by dividing it through 
the centre and inserting twenty feet. On the area 
thus formed, twenty-seven pews were built, and eight 
additional pews in the gallery. The deacons' seat 
was removed, and the elders' seat contrived for their 
accommodation. An additional front door was open- 
ed, and a portico of 30 feet front, supported by four 
pillars, and covering both entrances, was built. The 
whole cost of enlarging, painting and repairing the 
house, was $3,428,15, and the work was executed 
under the superintendence of Joseph Wood, John 
Stephens, and Josiah Gould. 
In 1835, the house was remodelled, to conform to 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 249 

the improved taste displayed in public buildings, at 
an expense of $10,000. The whole interior was re- 
moved ; the steeple, with its gilded chanticleer, was 
severed from the main body, and fell with a tremen- 
dous crash ; the eastern porch was taken away, and 
converted into a shop for mechanical purposes ; 
and the stout oak frame, which had borne the storms 
of more than sixty years, was alone retained. The 
style of architecture is Grecian. The front presents 
a handsome portico, sustained by large fluted col- 
umns. The entrance is by three doors, opening into 
a spacious porch, from which the gallery is reached 
by two flights of stairs. The pulpit, at the eastern 
end, is finely proportioned, and built of mahogany. 
The orchestra is furnished with an excellent-toned 
organ; and the cupola with a clock of Willard's 
manufacture, and a bell weighing 1244 lbs.=^ The 
improvements reflect much credit on the taste and 
the public spirit of the parish. 

In 1842, the interior of the house was painted in 
fresco, by Mr. Thomas Coleman. The walls are 
ornamented with pilasters and panels, and the ceil- 
ing with oblong panels, terminating in the centre, 
which gives a pleasing effect. Behind the pulpit is 
a painting emblematic of the light of Christianity 
breaking upon the darkness of the world, and scat- 
tering the clouds of ignorance, superstition, suffering 
and sin. Altogether, for beauty and convenience, 
this church is not surpassed by any in the county ; 
and by few, if any, in this country. 

The structure of the first and second houses of 
worship must have been exceedingly plain, and 
would have rudely contrasted with the architecture 

* This clock was procured in 1796, at the charge of the parish. 



250 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

of the present day. The whole frame-work was vis- 
ible to the very '^ridge-pole," for it was not until 
forty-four years after the second house was erected, 
(1726,) that measures were taken to lay a floor 
" upon the beams with boards and joist." A coat of 
whitewash served as a substitute for paint ; "laths 
and plaster" were dispensed with, as superfluous ; 
and the introduction of a stove, for the purpose of 
rendering the house comfortable during the winter 
months, would probably have been regarded as an 
imputation upon the piety of the congregation. In- 
deed, warming the meeting-house is quite a modern 
innovation ; and within twenty-five years past, the 
little "foot-stove" was considered as essential an 
element of a lady's sabbath paraphernalia as the 
muff" and hymn-book. 

The first departure from the primitive simplicity of 
long seats, in the occupancy of which the sexes were 
not permitted to mingle, appeared in the erection of 
the square pew, with its open-work top, through 
which graceless urchins played at " bo-peep" with 
others graceless as themselves, and its "leaning- 
board" and "hinge-seats," whose " slam down," at the 
close of each prayer, produced reports not dissimilar 
to the irregular musketry of undisciplined militia. 
In these enclosures favored individuals gathered their 
families around them, to the scandal, doubtless, of 
many envious spirits. But time and fashion have 
changed, and these " chief seats" have given place 
to the more convenient slip-pew. 

Of bells, including the one already mentioned, there 
have been five. The first, as before stated, was ob- 
tained by Capt. Lothrop, from a Catholic friary at 
Port Royal, in the expedition of 1656, and presented 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 251 

by him to the parish. The second was purchased 
by the parish, in 1685-6. It weighed 109 lbs., and 
cost £13. 12s. 6d. The third, weighing 267 lbs., was 
the gift of Robert Briscoe, in 1712, which, as was 
probably the case with its predecessors, was hung 
over the centre of the house, so that the bell-rope 
came down into the broad aisle. The fourth, weigh- 
ing 1387 lbs., was imported from London, but was 
soon cracked, and gave place to the fifth and present 
one in 1803, weighing 1244 lbs., of the manufacture 
of Paul Revere & Son, of Boston. 

Among the municipal regulations of the parish, 
those for seating the meeting were not the least im- 
portant. The first record relating to this subject is 
in 1671, when Roger Conant, Wm. Dixey and Richard 
Brackenbury were ''joined with the selectmen to 
seat all the married persons in the meeting-house." 
Committees were chosen for this purpose from time 
to time, who probably were governed by various 
rules until after the second house of worship was 
erected, when a regular system was drawn up by 
Col. Hale and adopted. This system provided — 

" That every male be allowed one degree for every 
complete year of age he exceeds twenty-one. 

" That he be allowed for a captain's commission 
twelve degrees; for a lieutenant's, eight degrees, and 
for an ensign's, four degrees. 

" That he be allowed three degrees for every shil- 
ling for real estate in the last parish tax, and one de- 
gree for every shilling for personal estate and faculty. 

" Every six degrees for estate and faculty of a pa- 
rent alive, to make one degree among his sons, or 
where there is none, among the daughters that are 
seated. 



252 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

" Every generation of predecessors heretofore liv- 
ing in this town, to make one degree for every male 
descendant that is seated. That parentage be re- 
garded no farther otherwise than to tnrn the scale 
between competition for the same seat. 

" That taxes for polls of sons and servants shall 
give no advancement for masters or fathers, because 
such sons or servants have seats. 

"That no degree be allowed on account of any 
one's predecessors having paid towards building the 
meeting-house, because it had fallen down before 
now, but for the repairs since made. 

" That some suitable abatement in degrees be 
made, where it is well known the person is greatly 
in debt. 

" That the tenant of a freehold for term of years 
shall be allowed as many degrees as half the real 
estate entitles him to, and the landlord the other 
half. 

" That the proprietor of land in any other parish 
shall be (if under his own improvement) allowed as 
much as he would be if they lay in the parish ; but 
if rented out, only half as much. 

" Married women to be seated agreeable to the 
rank of their husbands, and widows in the same de- 
gree as though their husbands were yet living. 

" That the foremost magistrate seat (so called) 
shall be the highest in rank, and the other three in 
successive order. 

" That the next in rank shall be in the foremost of 
the front seats below, then the fore-seat in the front- 
gallery, then the fore-seat in the side-gallery. 

"That the side-seat below shall be for elderly 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 253 

men, the foremost first or highest, and the others in 
order. 

"That the seats behind the fore-front seat below, 
shall be for middle-aged men, according to their 
degree. 

" That the second or third seats in the front and 
side galleries shall be for younger men, to rank al- 
ternately the second from before first, and the third 
next." 

The women were seated separately from the men. 

Upon these principles, three hundred and thirty- 
two men and three hundred and twenty-one women 
were seated, and their names recorded, — at the head 
of which stands the name of Col. Robert Hale, who, 
with Robert Haskell, Joshua Herrick, Robert Mor- 
gan, James Woodberry, Benj. Cleaves and Henry 
Herrick, occupied the first seat. 

Those who are disposed to ridicule a practice 
which imperfectly accords with later ideas of repub- 
lican equality, should remember that it was in uni- 
son with public sentiment at the time, and that when 
seats were free, some system for assigning them, sanc- 
tioned by the parish, was necessary to preserve har- 
mony among their occupants. Nor is the assign- 
ment of the first seat to Col. Robert Hale, who draft- 
ed the plan, to be regarded as an assumption or the 
result of design, as, under any previous rule, his 
office, wealth and service would have commanded it. 

The unsocial method of seating the meeting ne- 
cessarily separated the heads of families from their 
children, who were placed on benches in the aisles, 
or required to sit on the pulpit stairs. As might be 
expected, this arrangement was fruitful of disturb- 
ance alike annoying to the minister and scandalous 
22 



254 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

in the eyes of the devout. To remedy the evil, Feb. 
9, 1676, it was '• ordered by the selectmen, that the 
hinder seats of the elders' gallery is to be altered, 
and the boys are to set there, and Robert Hubbard, 
sen. to have an eye-out for them, and for the first 
offence to acquaint their parents or masters of it, and 
if they do offend again, to acquaint the selectmen with 
it, who shall deal with them according to law.'^ And 
again, Jan. 11, 1698-9, it was -'voted by the town, 
that the selectmen make such orders as convenient 
for the prevention of boys and idle persons from set- 
ting in such places, in our meeting-house, wherein 
they are out of public view, and so in time of public 
worship to spend much of their time in play and 
disorder." 

Displays of juvenile irreverence were not peculiar 
to Beverly. In Salem, April 20th, 1676, it was "or- 
dered, that all ye boys of ye towne are and shall bee 
appointed to sitt upon ye three paire of staires in ye 
meeting-house on ye Lord's day, and Wm. Lord is 
appointed to look to ye boyes yt sitt upon ye pulpit 
staires, and for ye other staires Reuben Guppy is to 
look to and order soe many of ye boyes as may be 
convenient, and if any are unruly, to present their 
names as ye law directs." "^ 

In some places, at a still earlier period, it was cus- 
tomary, during the public service, for a person to go 
about the meeting-house to wake the sleepers. He 
bore a long wand, on one end of which was a ball, 
and on the other a fox-tail. When he observed the 
men asleep, he rapped them on the head with the 
knob; and roused the slumbering sensibilities of the 

* Annals of Salem. 



HLSTORY OF BEVERLY. 255 

ladies by drawing the brush shghtly across their 
faces. =^ 

The musical exercises of the sanctuary, according 
to the custom of the times, were conducted by one of 
the deacons, who officiated as chorister to the con- 
gregation. He read the hymn line by line and " set 
the tune," in which each member joined '' by rote," in 
key and measure not always the most exact or harmo- 
nious. Probably, as musical taste improved, this des- 
ultory practice fell into disrepute ; as, by a vote in 
1764, the deacons were authorized to select singers, 
and seats were appropriated to their use, " that the 
spirit of singing psalms might be revived, and that 
part of worship conducted with more regularity." 
This arrangement continued until 1774, when a choir 
was regularly installed in " the front seats of the 
south gallery," and authorized, "by vote of the par- 
ish, to pitch the tune and take the lead in singing." 
In 1766, an improvement was attempted by the in- 
troduction of Watts' psalms and hymns, but not, 
however, without strong expression of dissatisfac- 
tion from those attached to the old version then in 
use. In the course of the succeeding fourteen years 
several ineffectual attempts were made to abolish the 
practice of "deaconing" the psalm; but, in 1780, 
the spirit of compromise led to the vote " that the 
psalms be sung in the congregation in the forenoon, by 
reading line by line, and in the afternoon without such 
reading." This compromise was of short duration. 
The friends of the ancient order, in yielding a part, 
paved the way for the loss of the whole, and, sus- 
tained by the current opinion, the entire service soon 
devolved on the choir, as now constituted. 

* Lewis' Hist. Lynn. 



256 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 



THE SECOND PARISH. 

The second or north parish, known as '' The Pre- 
cinct of Salem and Beverly ^'^^ was incorporated by- 
act of the General Court, in October, 1713. Previ- 
ously to this, in 1711, the town of Salem, which then 
included the whole of Rial-side and Conant-street, 
or in other words, the entire territory west of the 
brook near the residence of Major John Conant, 
" voted, that the inhabitants of Rial-side be allowed, 
with some of their neighbors of the Village, and also 
of Beverly, to build a meeting-house near Horse- 
bridge, on the line between Salem and Beverly." 

The formation of a second parish did not receive 
the unanimous approbation of the town, and at a 
meeting held Dec. 19 following, it was " voted, that 
Deacon Samuel Balch, Joseph Herrick and Robert 
Woodberry are chosen as agents for the town, to 
make objections against the prayer of the petition of 
some of the inhabitants of the northerly part of Bev- 
erly and the inhabitants of Rial-side, in Salem, and 
some of the inhabitants of Salem Village ; said pe- 
tition bearing date Oct. 23, 1712, and preferred by 
them before the Great and General Court, Oct. 2.5, 
1712, the town being now served with a copy of said 
petition, by order of said Court." One objection of- 
fered to granting the prayer of the petitioners, was, 
that some living within the limits of the proposed 
parish, were unwilling to leave their minister, Mr. 
Blowers. The remonstrance failed of its object, and 
tlie decision of the General Court was acquiesced in. 

On the 13th Nov. 1713, a meeting was held by the 
inhabitants of the new precinct, to take prehminary 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 257 

steps for erecting a house of worship. A committee, 
consisting of Nathaniel Hayward, Joseph Herrick. 
Thomas Rayment, John Trask, Jonathan Rayment, 
Edward Rayment, John Rea, Jonathan Dodge, and 
Andrew Dodge, was chosen to carry the vote of the 
meeting into effect; and at a subsequent meeting, 
£350 were voted to be raised, "to be improved for 
building a house for the pubHc worship of God, and 
to purchase land for the use of the people of said 
precinct." 

The dimensions of the house were ordered to be 
fifty feet in length and forty in width, if the timber 
which had been procured would admit of it. The 
largest sums paid towards building it were by Dea. 
Jonathan Conant, who paid £25 13s. 3d., and Cap- 
tain Thomas Rayment, who paid £20 10s. In the 
course of the season the house was erected, and fitted 
for public worship. Its interior partook of primitive 
simplicity. Long rows of substantial seats filled the 
area, but in progress of time they were displaced by 
" square pews," a few of which at an early day were 
built against the wall. The oaken pulpit was in 
excellent keeping with the massive frame-work that 
economy left naked, and the "deacons' seat" was 
of such ample dimensions as became the dignity of 
its occupants. At first, there was no steeple or bell, 
but simply a turret at the west end. A porch at the 
east end was built about the year 1771. by Caleb 
Dodge, at his own expense, for which the parish 
granted him a pew privilege in the south-east corner 
of the house. Previously to the erection of this 
porch, the women's entrance to the gallery was by a 
flight of stairs in the corner. In 1751, it was voted 
22=^ 



258 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

to build a steeple, and purchase a bell of about 400 
cwt. 

In 1715, after a season of fasting and prayer, a 
call to settle in the ministry was voted to Mr. John 
Chipman. The call was secured by the vote of Mrs. 
Mary Woodberry, who owned considerable property 
in the parish, and had probably contributed towards 
defraying the expenses of erecting the meeting-house. 
Her interest in the result was doubtless the cause of 
her being present at the meeting ; and her exercise 
of a franchise, novel in that day, settled for more 
than half a century a question of vital moment to 
the church and society. 

Mr. Chipman's salary was fixed at .£60 per annum, 
to be increased, in event of marriage, £5 annually, 
till it amounted to £80. He was to receive £100 
settlement, besides one acre of land in fee simple, 
and the "stranger's money " as a perquisite.^ 

This call, Mr. Chipman accepted, in the following 
note : 

Beverly, Nov. 8, 1715. Whereas my answer relating to yc 
votes passed by you for ye encouragement of my settlement was 
conditional, and the conditions on your part being performed (as 
by record appears) to my acceptance, — these are to signifie to you 
that I do accept thereof, and engage to settle with you, and (by 
divine assistance) to serve you in ye ministry of ye Gospel, offici- 
ating in all ye service that shall be incumbent on me, as preach- 
ing, catechising the youth, &c. 

To the Clerk of the Precinct of Salem and ) j^^^ Chipman. 
Beverly, to be communicated to said Precinct. S 

* " Stranger^s money.^' It was customary for a box to be placed 
near the door of the meeting-house, into which strangers put money 
on the sabbath, on the principle, it is presumed, that every person 
was morally obUgated to contribute to the support of public worship. 
The sum thus obtained was usually paid over to the minister, Tn ad- 
dition to his salary. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 259 

On the 28tli Dec. 1715, Mr. Chipman was ordained 
to the work of the ministry, previously to which, a 
day of fasting and prayer was observed. Before 
proceeding to ordination, a church was organized 
and publicly acknowledged, and the covenant signed 
by the following persons : — John Chipman, Edward 
Dodge, Jonathan Rayment, Joseph Dodge, Jonathan 
Dodge, Josiah Woodberry, Elisha Dodge, Nehemiah 
Wood, John Dodge, sen., John Leach, Joseph Her- 
rick, John Cresey, Jacob Griggs, John Brown and 
Moses Fluant. The covenant was drawn up by Mr. 
Chipman, and continued in use for seventy years, 
until the ministry of Rev. Daniel Oliver, when it 
was superseded by one framed by him. In 1831, the 
church unanimously agreed, " that the church may 
hereafter be built up upon the platform drawn up by 
Rev. John Chipman, at its organization, Dec. 28, 
1715 " ; and accordingly the formulary prepared by 
Mr. Oliver from that time ceased to be used. 

In the services of ordination, the charge was given 
by Rev. Joseph Gerrish, of Wenham ; the right 
hand of fellowship by Rev. Thomas Blowers, of the 
first parish in Beverly, who, together with Rev, 
Geo. Curwan, of the first church in Salem, and Rev. 
Benj. Prescott, of the third church in Salem, laid 
on hands. 

On the 11th Jan. 1716, the church held its first 
meeting, — at which John Cresey was chosen the first 
deacon. At the same meeting "it was voted, that a 
relation of experiences shall be made in public, by 
such persons as shall be admitted to communion with 
us at the table of the Lord," and that in admitting 
persons to full communion, the "brethren may sig- 
nify their consent by the vote of the hand." The vote 



260 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

in relation to experiences (though not designed,) 
seems after a series of years to have been construed 
as part of the covenant and consequently constitut- 
ing a term of communion, — and as such, evidently 
conflicting with the clause in the covenant which 
sets forth faith and repentance and an unblamable 
walk and conversation, as the only test of fitness for 
christian fellowship. This misapprehension led to 
a meeting in 1755, to '' explain and settle the terms 
of communion." 

It was considered that one article of the solemn 
covenant which this church entered into with God, 
and with each other, at their first embodying, on the 
28th Dec. 1715, stands recorded in these words, viz : 
" We promise also to admit to our communion such 
as shall desire to join themselves to us, if by a pro- 
fession of their faith and repentance, and unblamable 
walk and conversation, they may in charitable dis- 
cretion be accounted qualified for it." It being also 
considered, that there was a '' vote passed by this 
church, Jan. 11, 171.5-16, in these words, viz : ' That 
a relation of experiences shall be made in public, by 
such persons as shall be admitted to the table of the 
Lord,' which vote seems to be dissonant from said 
article, and carries a face on it as though we required 
some further term of communion with us than what 
is expressed in said article in our covenant : This 
church therefore thinks it expedient to declare, that 
we have from our very first beginning, which is more 
than thirty -nine years past, insisted on no other terms 
of communion with us than what are expressed in 
the said article in our covenant, but have received 
many persons to our communion at the table of the 
Lord, who have made no relation of their experiences 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 261 

in public, but only a profession of their faith and 
repentance : — Wherefore voted, 

^' 1st. That as this church has ever interpreted the 
vote aforesaid as p€r7nissive^ and not as compulsive^ 
so we do not now, nor will we for the future, insist 
on any other terms of communion with us than those 
expressed in said article in our covenant: and yet, 
that any person who upon his coming into commu- 
nion with us, shall be desirous of making a relation 
of his experience in public, shall have liberty so 
to do. 

"2dly. Voted, that any person desirous to join 
himself to this church, shall have liberty to manifest 
his faith and repentance either orally before the church, 
or by writing, to be read to the church, or privately to 
the pastor, to be by him commanicated to the church 
in the substance of it, the person owning before the 
church that which shall be read or commanicated by 
the pastor." This liberal course the church never de- 
viated from until the ministry of Rev. Daniel Oliver. 

The first person received to the church after its 
organization, was Jonathan Dodge, jr. The first 
adult baptized, was John Frost, and the second was 
Joseph Reed, a negro freeman, who was at the same 
time admitted to full communion. April 22, 1716, 
twenty persons were received from the first church in 
Beverly, and three from the church in Wenham. 
The names of the persons received from the first 
church were 

Nathaniel Hay ward and his wife Elizabeth ; Ne- 
hemiah Hay ward and Bethiah his wife; Sarah, wife 
of Deacon John Cresey ; Mary, wife of Lt. Rayment ; 
Sarah Woodberry ; Mary, wife of Edward Dodge ; 
Eleanour, wife of Jacob Griggs ; Mary, wife of Eli- 



262 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

sha Dodge ; Mary, wife of Moses Fluant ; Elizabeth, 
wife of John Dodge ; Sarah, wife of Jonathan Ray- 
ment; Mary Woodberry, Alice Woodberry ; Jerusha, 
wife of Jonathan Dodge sen. ; Lydia, wife of Josiah 
Woodberry; Mary, wife of Roger Conant ; Susanna, 
wife of Nehemiah Wood ; and Patience Woodberry. 
From Wenham, Sarah, wife of Jonah Dodge ; Kliza, 
wife of Jonathan Dodge, jr., and Abigail Trillmore. 

At a meeting of the church, April 26, 1722, Jona- 
than Rayment was chosen deacon. At the same 
meeting it was voted, that " whereas there are divers 
members of other churches cohabiting with us, and 
every way appertaining and belonging to us, saving 
that they yet neglect to put themselves under the 
watch and care of this church by coming in fully into 
the covenant and communion with us as a particular 
church of Christ : Wherefore, voted, that the dea- 
cons of the church be desired to discourse (with) 
those members of other churches, and to endeavor to 
persuade them to come up fully to their duty in this 
article, that their communion with us may be more 
fully stated and regular." 

In 1727, twenty-five were added to the church; 
and on the last day of the year Mr. Chipman writes, 
" Soli Deo Laus qui et terram violenter exagitavit et 
super populum suum spiritum suum effudit." "Praise 
to God alone, who has both shaken violently the 
earth, and poured out his spirit on his people." 

In 172.5, the parish, through a committee, applied 
to the town for an enlargement of territory. The 
application was unsuccessful, and the next year a 
movement was made to procure the incorporation of 
the precinct as a separate town. At a meeting held 
July 1, 1726, " after a debate of an hour and a half, 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 263 

the people were of opinion that it was most Rkely, to 
do their duty as aforesaid, for this puecinct to be in- 
corporated into a township, and it being put to vote 
by the moderator, it was voted for a township by a 
great majority." From this decision eighteen dis- 
sented. This subject was agitated about thirteen 
years, when the parish concluded to settle down qui- 
etly as they were. 

Very soon after the house of worship was erected, 
a committee was chosen to seat the meeting. The 
rule adopted Avas : "to show respect to ye aged peo- 
ple amongst vs, as allso to have a speciall regard unto 
persons that have don service for ye benefit of ye 
precinct, and have contributed high in building of ye 
hous for ye publick worship of God, and purchasing 
land for ye use of ye people of sd. precinct, and are 
Likely to pay considerable in ye Charge of ye minis- 
try amongst us : — as allso not to seat above two- 
thirds so many persons in any seat, as ye seats will 
comfortably hold." This last provision indicates 
that their numbers at that time, were not equal to 
their room. At a meeting, March 19, 1715-16, it 
was voted that " ye Committee that was chosen to 
seate ye meeting-house heretofore, are now chosen, 
and desired to seate all such persons as are inhabit- 
ants amongst us, and pay rates with us, and are not 
as yet seated." To prevent the young females from 
pressing in and incommoding the married women who 
sat in the gallery, it was voted at a meeting, March 
29, 1715, that the front seat in the east gallery "be 
parted in ye middle." In 1730, the committee, in 
performing the duty assigned them, were directed 
" first to have a regard to old age, and second to 
what men pay for their real estates;" and in 1755, 



264 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

it was voted to have '-special regard to age, rates 
and commission." 

The musical exercises in pubHc worship were con- 
ducted in a manner similar to tlie practice of the first 
church, already described. The deacon '• lined '' 
the psalm, and " set the tune," in which the congre- 
gation joined. The first attempt to improve this 
method was by the introduction of music-books, and 
probably the formation of a choir. This movement 
produced a strong sensation. The deacon felt that 
his prerogative was usurped, the congregation were 
disturbed by the introduction of tunes with which 
they were unacquainted, and by many worthy peo- 
ple it was viewed as a dangerous innovation. The 
uneasiness thus created, led to a church meeting in 
1730, to devise a plan for the restoration of harmony. 
The importance the subject assumed may be best es- 
timated by the following record of proceedings. 

" Whereas there has been some difference of opin- 
ion in some of the members of this church, relating 
to the way or method of our psalmody, some think- 
ing that the way or method of singing the psalm tunes 
which has heretofore been in common use among us, 
should still be retained by us ; but others, that the 
way or method of singing the tunes by note, as has 
been of late years introduced into many other 
churches and congregations in the land, should be 
promoted and established in this society : for the 
accommodation of which aff'air the church is now 
met. And having first considered, that it is our indis- 
pensable duty to harmonize in the way or method of 
our singing the praises of God, and to use our utmost 
endeavors to prevent all manner of discord therein, 
so that we may not only with one mind, but also with 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 265 

one mouth, glorifie God according to that precept, 
Rom. XV. 6. It was then voted, that considering 
our present circumstances, the church does judge it 
to be most conducive to the peace of this people to 
sing the psahn tunes in the way and method which 
has heretofore been in common use among us, and ac- 
cordingly does determine yet to sing them in that 
way and method." 

At a subsequent meeting this vote was reconsid- 
ered, and " the church having first considered sev- 
eral inconveniences which had arisen from said vote 
of April 16th, 1730, which were likely to continue 
and increase, if the said vote should be strictly ad- 
hered to for the future, then agreed and voted, That 
this churcli does determine to sing the psalm tunes 
regularly by note, once upon every Lord's day, and 
once upon fast days, viz. at the first time of singing 
in the afternoon, and once upon every thanksgiving 
day also. Voted likewise at the same meeting, That 
Mr. Joseph Cresey be desired to set the tune, or lead 
the song, at all sucli times as the church has agreed 
to sing regularly by note. Moreover, seeing that an 
inconvenience and disorder hath happened by the 
introduction of a psalm tune which the people of 
this church and congregation are mostly unac- 
quainted with : wherefore it was agreed and voted, 
that no psalm tune which has not been in common 
use among us, shall be speedily introduced, set or 
sung in this congregation, excepting the tune called 
vSt. Marie's or Hackney, and the tune called Com- 
mandment tune.'' This course of compromise was 
continued little more than a year, until Oct. 28, 
1731, when at a church meeting it was ''voted that 
they would for the future time, sing (at all times of 
23 



266 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

singing in the public worship) the psahn tunes by 
rule, according to the notes pricked in our psalm 
books." A relative of Mr. Cresey above mentioned, 
was for many years an efficient leader of the choir. 

Another disturbing movement was the introduc- 
tion of Watts' Psahiis and Hymns, in 1770. The 
dread of innovation seems to have neutralized in 
many minds the spirit of improvement, and on this 
occasion an elderly gentleman rose in the midst of 
divine service greatly excited, and declared that had 
Solomon been witness to what his eyes had that day 
seen, he never would have written " there is nothing 
new under the sun." These prejudices gradually 
subsided as the people became familiarized with the 
change, and at a later period veneration for Watts 
became general. 

Among the early friends and benefactors of the 
parish, was Robert Hooper jr. of Marblehead, who 
owned the farm at Rial-side, the property of the late 
Rufus Putnam. 

In 1753 he presented the parish with a bell, 
which was gratefully received ; and besides making 
him a free grant of a pew, it was voted, as a further 
mark of respect, " to lath and plaster over-head, 
over the above said pew, upon the parish's cost :'" 
and six years after, the parish " voted that the Hon. 
Robert Hooper, Esq. be desired when he occasion- 
ally attends divine worship with us, to take the up- 
permost end of the fore-seat on the floor before the 
pulpit." Col. Robert Hale and Lieut. Henry Her- 
rick, also receive honorable notice, the former of 
whom is styled a " generous benefactor" and owned 
a pew in the house. 

In 1759, it was " voted that Lieut. Henry Herrick 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 267 

l3e desired, when he attends divine worship with us, 
to take the second seat on the floor before the pul- 
pit,^' — and in 1764, a vote was passed desiring Mrs. 
Herrick to take a seat in the women's fore pew. 

In 1760, legacies having been left to this church 
by Ebenezer Raymond, Hannah Woodberry, and 
Dea. John Conant, amounting to £7.1.4, a contribu- 
tion was taken which increased the sum to £13.13.5 
with which a silver tankard for the communion was 
purchased. Sept. 29, 1769, Mr. Chipman confirmed 
the gift of a silver cup, made by his wife Hannah 
to the church in her last illness. In 1S09, Josiah 
Batchelder jr. bequeathed a silver tankard. In .Tune 
1832, the late William Friend presented a silver cup 
to the church, and in 183S, Elizabeth Friend, his 
widow, presented a copy of the scriptures for the 
use of the pulpit. 

In the course of a few years after Mr. Chipman's 
settlement, the currency became greatly disordered, 
and to secure him against loss from paper deprecia- 
tion, £20, £80 and £120, were added to his salary. 
In 1735, in consequence of the expenses arising from 
sickness in his family, the parish voted to take a 
quarterly contribution for his benefit. In 1740 a 
precinct meeting was held, to ascertain why Mr. 
Chipman had not receipted in full for his salary, — 
whereupon he gave a receipt in full for all the time 
since his settlement, specifying that he did it partly 
for considerations other than value received. The 
continual depreciation of bills of credit not having 
been fully made up to him by the precinct, was the 
reason why, although he was willing to give them a 
discharge in full, he would not acknoAvledge he had 
been paid in full. In 1748 an attempt was made to 



268 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

regulate his salary by the current value of silver, 
but it did not succeed, and £600 old tenor were 
voted for his salary of £80. In 1750, when paper- 
money ceased to circulate, the precinct voted him 
£80 lawful money. In subsequent years his salary 
was increased to £85, £88, and finally to £90. 

July 22, 1757, letters signed Ohver Carter, &c. in 
behalf of about eighteen or nineteen brethren of the 
church in Leominster, Mass. were received and com- 
plied with, requesting the pastor, with delegates, to 
assist at a council convened for the purpose of ex- 
amining a complaint entered against their pastor, 
Rev. John Rogers. The letters set forth that he had 
denied the doctrine of original sin, and had "ren- 
dered himself suspected of unsoundness, even in 
some of the fundamental doctrines of Christianity ; 
more particularly of the Deity of the Lord Jesus 
Christ." Deacon Joshua Dodge and Joseph Cresey 
were chosen delegates to accompany the pastor. 

Until 1770, Mr. Chipman discharged his ministe- 
rial duties without assistance, but being now disa- 
bled by age and infirmity, Mr. Enos Hitchcock was 
employed to supply the pulpit; and in 1771, after 
several consultations through a committee with Mr. 
Chipman, the church and society gave a call to Mr. 
Hitchcock to settle as colleague-pastor, which was 
accepted. His settlement was fixed at £133.6.8, 
and his salary during Mr. Chipm.an's life, at £60, to 
be increased after his decease to £95. 

On the 21st March, 1771, Mr. Hitchcock was re- 
ceived into this church by letters of dismission and 
recommendation from the church in Truro. The 
first day of May following was appointed for his or- 
dination, and a committee chosen to procure two 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 269 

suitable persons to provide for the council, and for 
the scholars and gentlemen who might attend. The 
churches in Salem of which Rev. Messrs. Barnard 
and Diman were pastors, — the first church in Bev- 
erly, the second church in Pembroke, the second 
and third churches in Brookfield, and the churches 
in Dan vers, Manchester, Wenham and Middleton, as- 
sisted on the occasion. The services commenced 
with an anthem. Prayer by Rev. Mr. Forbes, of 
Brookfield. Sermon by Rev. Gad Hitchcock, of 
Pembroke, from 1 Cor. ix. 19 : '• For though I be 
free from all men, yet have I made myself servant 
unto all, that I might gain the more.^" Mr. Diman, 
of Salem, gave the charge; Mr. Swain, of Wenham, 
gave the fellowship; Mr. Smith, of Middleton, made 
the concluding prayer ; after which, was an anthem. 

The sermon, which was published, was a clear ex- 
hibition of the gospel plan as understood by the au- 
thor, and of the duties of the ministry, afiirming 
that " a slavish submission to humaii creeds aud for- 
mularies, and a trembling concern to make them 
the basis of our discourses to the people, is degrad- 
ing to the sacred character, an afi'ront to the scrip- 
tures of truth, and a contradiction of the fundamental 
principles of protestantism." 

Mr. Chipman survived the ordination of Mr. Hitch- 
cock about four years, and died March 23, 1775, at 
the advanced age of eighty-five. The parish voted 
£14 to defray funeral charges. The solemnities of 
the occasion were such as became the venerable age 
and estimable character of the deceased. The corpse 
was carried into the meeting-house, when a prayer 
was offered by Mr. Hitchcock, and an appropriate ad- 
23^ 



270 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

dress delivered by another clergyman present. =^ On 
his grave-stone in the old burying-ground of the 
precinct is the following epitaph in latin, conjec- 
tured to have been written by Mr. Hitchcock : 

" To this grave arc committed the remains of the 
reverend and tndy venerable John Chipman^ A. M. ; 
a graduate of Hai^vard College^ and for more than 
fifty-nine years the faithful pastor of the second par- 
ish in Beverly ; — a man eminent for solid powers of 
mind and useful learyiing^ and particularly distin- 
guished by his acquaintance with the Scriptures ; se- 
rious and pungent in preaching the word ; penetrated 
with love of the religion of Jesus^ and by his own ex~ 
am,ple teaching others its precepts ; in presiding over 
the church, vigilant and upright ; to all the flock ^ be- 
nevolent and just • embracing from, his sold the good 
of all sects ; remarkable for the performance of mu- 
tual and social offices ; hi his family an example of 
every christian nirtue ; far from being inflated by 
prosperity ; most patient in adversity. Having at- 
tained an advanced age^ and in the firm^est hope of a 
happy immortality^ he expired on the 23fl? day of 
March, A. D. 1775, aged 85." 



* It was customary at that period, as it is in some places now, to 
present mourning rings, gloves, &c. to the near friends of the de- 
ceased. In consequence of the scarcity of money during the revo- 
lutionary war, the provincial government recommended the discon- 
tinuance of this practice. Tradition states that some little delay oc- 
curred in the burial of Mr. Chipman, from a strong desire on the 
part of the executors or nearest relatives, to revive the custom at this 
time. A proviso in the parish grant of the £14 would seem to con. 
firm the tradition. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 27l 

Mr. Chipman was a native of Barnstable, Mass. 
and graduated at Harvard College in 1711. He was 
twice married — first to Rebeckah, sister of Co]. Rob- 
ert Hale, and second, to Hannah Warren, who died 
without issue, June 24, 1769. By his first wife he 
had fifteen children, viz. : Elizabeth, Sarah (died in 
infancy), John, Sarah, Samuel, Rebeckah, Robert 
(died young), Henry, Biley, Robert Hale, Joseph, 
Mary, Hannah, Abigail and Benjamin. John, the 
Qldest son, graduated at Harvard College, and en- 
gaged in the practice of law. He died suddenly, at 
Falmouth, Me. of apoplexy, with which he was 
seized while arguing a cause before the Superior 
Court, July 1, 1768. He was highly esteemed, and 
his brethren of the bar erected a monument " to the 
remembrance of his great learning, uniform integrity, 
and singular humanity and benevolence." His son, 
Ward Chipman, graduated at Harvard College, and 
was distinguished as a judge of the Supreme Court 
of New Brunswick, and for his great influence with 
the government at home. Ward Chipman, jr. and 
grandson of John, also graduated at Harvard Col- 
lege with the highest honors of his class, and was 
afterAvards appointed Chief Justice of New Bruns- 
wick. Samuel, second son of Rev. John Chipman, 
died at St. Martin's, Sept. 19, 1761. He had a son 
John, who was the father of Rev. Richard Manning 
Chipman, of Athol. 

Mr. Chipman' s life and the period of his ministry 
exceeded that of all the other clergymen in Beverly, 
and he probably outlived nearly all those who were 
of age at the time of his settlement. In person he 
was about five feet eight inches, and of full habit. 
His pulpit eflbrts were devout and energetic, and he 



272 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

appears to have been held in the highest esteem and 
reverence by his people, over whom he exercised 
an uncontrolled influence to the termination of life. 
This influence upon the vicious, oftentimes supplied 
the want of correct moral principle, in restraining 
them from sinful courses : with the virtuous, it was 
a powerful incentive to the diligent performance of 
every duty. The manners of the time in which he 
lived, allowed him to command that obedience, 
which is now only to be sought by the more mild, 
though not less efl'ectual means of persuasion. His 
influence abroad was commensurate with that ex- 
erted at home. He was frequently called to assist in 
ordinations, and in the settlement of difficulties that 
arose in the neighboring churches. His virtues, though 
of the sterner sort, were not the less real. In 1746, 
with Mr. Wigglesworth, of Ipswich, he published a 
controversial pamphlet, directed against Rev. Wm. 
Balch of Bradford, who was accused of propagating 
Arminian tenets."^ This, with a thanksgiving dis- 
course and a sermon on the close of the year, are the 
only writings of Mr. Chipman, so far as is ascer- 
tained, that were ever published. The joint produc- 
tion of Messrs. Wigglesworth and Chipman is a pam- 

* The Rev. Wm. Balch was the son of Mr. Freeborn Balch, who 
became a member of the second parish in 1715, He was born in 
Beverly, in 1704, admitted to the second church in 1722, graduated 
at Harvard College 1724, — was ordained at Bradford, Mass. June 7, 
1727 (upon which occasion Mr. Chipman assisted) and died 1792, in 
the 88th year of his age. He is said to have possessed strong pow- 
ers of mind, was mild and conciliating in his manners, and was uni- 
versally beloved by his flock. He was fond of agriculture, and the 
fruit of his orchard was said to be the best in the county of Essex. 
His cider, which bore the best price in the market, was called ^^ Ar- 
viinian cider J' 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 273 

phlet of forty-four pages. It is written in a tem- 
perate spirit, and dedicated "To the Ministers and 
Churches of our Lord Jesus Christ in New England." 
Mr. Batch's reply occupies ninety-two pages, and dis- 
plays perspicuity and independence. " It is the grief 
of my soul (he says) to see the Bible so much neg- 
lected, and other books so much made the stand- 
ard ;" and he cannot "help miserably bewaihng the 
state of the reformed churches who stick" where 
they were left by the reformation. 

Mr, Chipman is understood to have been partial to 
the science of medical astrology. His seventh son, 
Joseph, came in possession of the parsonage estate, 
and during a long life of persevering industry and 
enterprize, did much to improve and beautify its ap- 
pearance. His widow has in her possession a por- 
trait of Rev. John Chipman. It was taken several 
years before his death, and is pronounced, by an 
aged lady now living, who frequently watched with 
him in his last sickness, an excellent likeness. 

Mr. Chipman was pastor of the second parish for 
nearly 60 years ; during which period he received 
384 persons into the church, administered the ordi- 
nance of baptism to 834 children and 34 adults, uni- 
ted in wedlock 303 couples, and attended 631 funer- 
als. The first couple united in wedlock by him, was 
Samuel Smith and Elizabeth Hay ward, both of Bev- 
erly, Jan. 19, 1716; the last, John Dodge 3d. and 
Mehitable Batcheller, both of this town, Dec. 1, 
1768. The first death recorded by him. is Eleanor, 
child of John Dodge, Jr., Oct. 13, 1715 ; the last, a 
daughter of Jonathan Cresey, 1769. 

Mr. Chipman solemnized the marriages of six cler- 
gymen, viz: Dec. 12, 1727, Rev. Pain Wingate of 



274 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

Amesbury, to Mary Balch of Beverly. March 12, 
1728, Rev. Wm. Balch of Bradford, to Rebecca 
Stone of Beverly. Oct. 1, 1730, Rev. Joseph Champ- 
ney to Elizabeth Blowers, both of Beverly. April 21, 
1737, Rev. John Warren of Wenham, to Elizabeth 
Chipman of Beverly. Feb. 14, 1749, Rev. Neliemi- 
ah Porter, of Ipswich, to Rebecca Chipman of Bev- 
erly. July 3, 1751, Rev. Joseph Swain to Eliza 
Warren, both of Wenham. 

Soon after Mr. Chipman's decease, Mr. Hitchcock's 
salary was increased to £95. But in consequence of 
the depreciation of the paper-money then in circula- 
tion, it was raised in 1778 to £400 ; in 1779 to £800 ; 
and in 1780 to £4275, being at the rate of £45 for 
£1 of his original salary. Some idea of the wretch- 
ed state of the currency at this period may be formed 
from the fact, that in 1781 the parish pasture, of a 
few acres, Avas rented for £145, and £10,000 were 
raised to defray the current expenses of the parish 
for the year. 

Mr. Hitchcock was a native of Springfield, Mass., 
and graduated at Harvard College in 1767. In the 
first year of his ministry he married Miss Achsah 
Jordan of Truro. In common with the clergy of his 
times, he warmly espoused the cause of his country. 
In 1777 he entered the army as chaplain, though he 
was not dismissed until 1780. The following letters, 
addressed, while in the public service, to his intimate 
friend, Josiah Batchelder, Jr., are here preserved as 
interesting memoranda of that important period : 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 27 



Valley Forge, May 15, 1778. 

Dear Sir : — I most heartily congratulate you on the agreeable 
face cast on our affairs by the equitable treaty of amity and com- 
merce with France, which gives general satisfaction, and was 
received here with a feu de joie. Our troops are in high spirits 
after the distressing sufferings of the winter, which nothing could 
equal but the unparalleled patience with which they were endur- 
ed- The noble commander-in-chief, whose heart ached to see it, 
says they deserve every thing from their country. I wish their 
merit might be rewarded. It gives me pain to see the nakedness 
of many of the soldiery. The clothing is but little of it come in 
yet. Numbers of our brigade are destitute even of a shirt, and 
have nothing but the ragged remains of some loose garments as 
a partial covering.* But this is more tolerable now than when 
colder. We have no prospect of clothing for more than three 
regiments of the brigade, and I never expect to see the troops of 
our State furnished till there is an agent appointed for that pur- 
pose, as the other States have, to see it delivered to our men. I 
hear the town's clothing is on the way ; so I hope the shame of 
our nakedness will not long appear. Great improvements are 
making in the discipline of the army — several hours every day 
being devoted to that purpose. Our strength increases faster in 
this way than by the addition of numbers. We lay very quiet in 
camp — very little skirmishing, of late, between parties. The en- 
emy lately burnt two frigates up the river, and did some other 
mischief. 'Tis a disagreeable thought, that the price of necessa- 
ries in Massachusetts, where they abound, is much higher than in 
these [middle] States, for which they are greatly reflected on. 
Our living in camp is comfortable. My compliments to all friends. 
Please to accept, and divide with your lady, the sincerest regards 
Of, sir, your most humble servant, 

E. Hitchcock. 
Capt. Batchelder. 

* In a letter from Quartermaster Jonathan Conant, dated at Valley 
Forge, Jan. 5th, 1778, he says, that nothing " except grace" is more 
wanting in the army than clothing ; and adds, " I am sorry to say it, 
our regiment goes by the name of the ragged regiment." 



276 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 



Camp Greenwich, July 23, 1778. 

Dear Sir : — Your favor in answer to mine, I received some 
time since. I am happy to inform you that the state of the troops, 
as to clotliing, is much better ; their spirits, as usual, good. After 
a long and tedious march of more than two hundred and twenty 
miles, in the excessive heat of summer, the successful action of 
Monmouth rewards every toil. Mr. Conant and the other gentle- 
men will give you a particular account of matters. I must con- 
gratulate you on the present happy state of affairs, to which the 
friendly disposition of France, in part, contributes. Their pow- 
erful fleet you have doubtless a particular account of. I hope the 
happy period is approaching-, when peace will smile upon us, 
though it may be at the expense of the peace of Europe, and we 
may be called to carry war into the extremes of the continent. 

The court passed a resolve to present the officers with two 
shirts, shoes and stockings. 'T was to be supposed the things 
presented would be agreeable to the character of those to whom 
offered ; but many of each have been sent, bearing no proportion, 
in quality, to the town's clothing to soldiers. I have mentioned 
these things from an earnest wish that all occasion of bickering 
between those gentlemen and their brethren may by some means 
be prevented. By being in the army, officers cultivate tender no- 
tions of honor ; and this is highly necessary for the government 
and well-being of it. 

I hope, if God please, to see you and my other friends, after 
having seen New York and a total demolition of the British army 
there. Wishing health and happiness to you and family, to whom 
present my regards, and to other friends, I am, with respect, sir. 

Your friend and humble servant, 

E. Hitchcock. 
Capt. Batchelder. 

The following partakes of the gloom that hung 
over the prospects of the army at the time of its 
date : 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 277 



West Point, July 13, 1779. 

Dear Sir : — Your kind favor of June 25th came safely to hand 
by the last post. It was the more acceptable, as I feared you, 
among my other friends, had forgotten me. 

As to the western expedition, it goes on well so far. Gen. Sul- 
livan, with the middle division, was at Wyoming the last accounts 
we had, and Clinton with his brigade was crossing the country 
from Cherry Valley via lake Otsego, to join him. One hundred 
and twenty of the remnant of the Onandago tribe joined him on 
the way. The whole country, 'tis said, are greatly alarmed. The 
Seneca nation will be the first and principal object of their opera- 
tions. The accounts of our success in the back parts of Virginia, 
you Avill have in the papers. They are at a great distance, and 
do not so immediately affect us, but are of great consequence to 
that State. The affairs of South Carolina are uncertain. Our 
success there, I believe, has not been equal to common report. 
Ignipotent Tryon, with a band of furies, makes shocking havoc on 
the Sound. New Haven is sacked, some of its inhabitants mur- 
dered, and a few houses burnt. Fairfield, the handsomest town 
in Connecticut, is in ashes, the people cruelly treated, and some 
of the fair sex, 'tis said, carried off. Yesterday, they landed an 
army of 4000 at Norwalk, marching from the main body, to unite 
and facilitate their operations. The militia flock in fast. Gen. 
Heath, with the two Connecticut brigades, marched from us last 
Lord's day, to operate with them against these enemies of God 
and goodness, yea, of humanity itself. 

'Tis unhappy that Gen. Washington has not been enabled by 
the country to afford them more assistance from his little army- 
As one plan of the enemy is to draw hun from protecting this post, 
he will be on his guard till it is rendered so strong in works, that 
a garrison will be sufficient to cover it with the aid of militia, on 
emergencies. A vast deal of work is necessary to put it in such 
a state. We never fail to pay dear for our supineness, dreaming 
of peace when there is no peace- 
No period of the controversy has appeared to me more critical 
and alarming than the present. The country is asleep, to appear- 
ance totally inattentive to what ought to be their grand object — 
24 



278 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

defence. The currency is on the eve of destruction. The army 
is groaning under an unjust and unsupportable proportion of the 
burden, entirely neglected by their brethren in the country. Offi- 
cers are daily resigning, soldiers are frequently deserting, our 
troops are falling sick faster tlian I ever knew them to do for want 
of the means of health, their fatigue being very hard. No vege- 
tables, acids, or spirits, are to be had. 'Tis very little, except 
beef, bread and water, that any of us can get to live on. For 
more than three months no stores from our State have been fur- 
nished us. Every circumstance forbidding our continuance in the 
service, that falls within the limits of imagination, takes place with 
us. 'Tis the united voice of all our officers, whose circumstances 
will permit them to tarry so long, to wade through the fatigues 
and distresses of this campaign, and then retire from the service ; 
but it has been hard to prevail on many to tarry so long. A num- 
ber think they can't, and are now urging for resignations. 

The above are no chimeras of my own brain, but facts of public 
notoriety, which will soon be represented to Court in form, by the 
officers of our line, who feel in the most poignant manner the evils 
mentioned. We are sensible many difficulties attend the move- 
ment of government, and that the depreciation of our medium has 
had a great hand in embarrassing them ; but that our friends at 
home should abound in the comfortables and luxuries of life, and 
we be wholly destitute, seems not to be equal ; nor do we know 
how to account for it, but by setting it to the score of inattention. 
We conceive it would have been the easiest method government 
could have taken, to make up, at least in part, the depreciation of 
the currency to us, to afford ample supplies in the small-store way, 
with which the country abounds, and of which we have been in 
want most of the time since we came out. 

I write with the more freedom, sir, as I address a public officer 
whose well-known attachment to the rights of the army leads him 
to wish for correct information of their state. That which I here 
give stands on the broad foundation of truth, is dictated by the 
feelings of humanity for others, ardent wishes of safety to my 
country, and sincere desires to experience, in common with my 
brethren, that relief for which our situation loudly calls. 

It gave me great pleasure to hear of your appointment to the 
committee of supplies. I trust your exertions will not be wanting 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 279 

for us, and that all just grounds of complaint will be removed. 
It would be a great alleviation to the hardships of camp life, if we 
were furnished, according to stipulation, with the following arti- 
cles : — tea, coffee, chocolate, sugar, pepper, ginger, mustard, vine- 
gar, dry cheese, port wine, writing paper, ink-powder, wafers and 
wax, shoes, stockings, (a proportion of them fit for officers,) linen, 
thread, silk and trimmings of various kinds ; soap much wanted, 
and rum, the least useful of all these articles. Many things have 
doubtless escaped my mind, which may be suggested to yours. 
The small quantity of those articles we are able to command in 
this vicinity, soon consumes our wages, and leaves us far from a 
supply. 

I long to see my countrymen reanimated and inspired with that 
spirit of virtuous patriotism, which at first fired their breasts and 
invigorated every nerve in the common defence. Till then we 
look in vain for peace. Without this, we may expect desolation, 
like a flood ! Wishing that the blessing of heaven may attend 
you and family, 

I am, sir, your obedient servant, 

Enos Hitchcock. 

The next letter is written under a brighter sky. 

West Point, Oct. 12, 1779. 

Dear Sir: My last contained many gloomy truths. We had 
for a long time been extremely destitute, which discouraged num- 
bers ; resignations therefore became frequent, and I am sorry to 
say, they are not quite out of fashion yet. Two captains in our 
brigade have resigned this week on receipt of intelligence of the 

disagreeable condition of their families at home Our small 

supplies have aftbrded great relief The 27th August we receiv- 
ed the first for the season, about ten loads. These furnished one 
pound of sugar and a quarter of a pound of tea to a ration. The 
18th September we received half a pound of sugar and the same 
of coffee to a ration. We have received eighteen or twenty 
loads, and hear of more on the way. 

There is a pleasing change on the face of affairs, not only 

abroad but at home We are big with expectation of 

some great event. By the brisk and rapid preparations now mak- 



280 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

ing, we apprehend a speedy and general movement of the army. 
I conclude it depends on Count D'Estang, who is hourly expected. 
A great many pilots are sent off to go on board his fleet, and a 
large number of flat-bottomed boats are building with all possible 
despatch, to carry troops. Our light infantry lay within a few 
miles of Stony Point, and I suppose will open batteries upon it 
soon. The season is so far advanced as, I fear, to interrupt if not 
prevent the Count's operations this way. 

Tlie affair of the Penobscot is only a little spot on the fair face 
of a successful campaign ; and as an inquiry is making into it, 
when, I presume, truth will be brought to light, let a veil remain 
on it till judicially removed. It has been too common to prejudge, 
censure and condemn. 

I sometimes indulge a thought that we may see New York this 

fall, but dare not harbor it Is it possible for me to return 

while these things are in agitation ? I have seen my country, 
and the army in particular, in deep distress. I have suffered with 
them. Can I leave them when they hope to give a blow that will 
do honor to themselves, and render essential service to their coun- 
try ? But I must not anticipate too much. It depends on so 
many contingencies that the whole may fail. I expect to see 
home early in November if these operations do not take place ; if 
they do, 'tis uncertain when. 

You have, doubtless, heard of a second freight of Germans 
carried into Philadelphia. Our friends are all well in camp. 
Please give my regards to Mrs. Batchelder and such friends as 
think me worth inquiring after. 

I am with respect and affection, sir. 

Your obedient servant, 

Enos Hitchcock. 

In 1780, Mr. Hitchcock was chaplain to Gen. Pat- 
terson's brigade. While connected with the army, he 
preached occasionally in Providence, R. I., where, after 
the army disbanded, he received a call to settle, and 
was installed Oct. 1, 1783. He died Feb. 27, 1803, 
in the 59th year of his age. He was a good preacher, 
a sensible and learned divine, a man of active benev- 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 281 

olence. and took a deep interest in the education of 
youth and the estabUshment of free schools. He 
bequeathed $2500 at his decease, for the foundation 
of a ministerial fund in his society in Providence. 
He published a book of catechetical instruction and 
forms of devotion for children and youth — Charles 
Worthy, or the Memoirs of the Bloomsgrove family ; 
a work on education in two volumes, and a sermon 
at the dedication of his meeting-house. 

From Mr. Hitchcock's dismission until 1787, the 
pulpit was supplied by Revs. Obediah Parsons, John 
Gleaveland and Daniel Story, when Mr. Daniel Oliver 
received and accepted a call to settle. His ordination 
took place Oct. 3. The council consisted of seven- 
teen churches, viz : those under the pastoral care of 
Rev. Messrs. Wadsworth and Holt, of Danvers, 
Swain of Wenham, Parsons of Lynn, McKean of 
Beverly, Hopkins and Barnard of Salem, Frisby of 
Ipswich, French of Andover, Forbes of Gloucester, 
Morrill of Wilmington, Breck of Topsfield, Gleave- 
land of Chebacco, Robbins of Plymouth, Smith of 
Middleton, Dana of Ipswich, and Cutler of Hamil- 
ton. On the day of his ordination he was received 
to this church, by letters of dismission and recom- 
mendation from the second church in Boston. In 
doctrine^ Mr. Oliver is understood to have agreed with 
Hopkins, and shortly after his ordination drew up a 
7iew confession of faith^ which, by a vote of the 
church, was substituted for Mr. Chipman's platform, 
as already noticed. 

In 1791, Mr. Oliver declined giving a receipt in full 

for his settlement and salary unless the parish would 

allow him interest upon the principal for the delay of 

payment of the principal beyond the period when it 

24=^ 



282 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

was contracted to be paid. This gave offence to 
many, and laid the foundation of a series of difficul- 
ties, which ultimately resulted in his dismissal. In 
1792, several of the disaffected persons seceded, and 
joined the Baptist society in Danvets. This led to a 
lawsuit, which put the parish to great expense. In 
1794, at the request of the parish, Mr. Oliver relin- 
quished £20 of his salary, being probably the propor- 
tion formerly paid by the seceders. The next year 
his salary was voted in full. The difficulties just 
alluded to, now assumed a more decided character. 
March 29, 1796, the parish refused to vote Mr. Oliver 
his salary, and instead thereof appointed a commit- 
tee of eleven persons to request him to resign. Parish 
and church meetings were frequently called, and 
various methods suggested to accomplish a final ad- 
justment of the difficulties, but without success, until 
1797 — when a council was convened, the complaints 
and grievances of both parties^ were fully investigated 
and discussed, and a final separation was effected 
upon specified conditions. Mr. Oliver's salary was 
continued to him up to August 5, 1797. The use of 
the parsonage lands was continued to him for the 
current year, and in 1798, $300, the award of the 
referees, was paid him. He died at Roxbury, Sep- 
tember 14, 1840, in the 89th year of his age. 

After the dismission of Mr. Oliver, the pulpit was 
supplied by Messrs. Story, Alden and Micah Stone, 
the latter of whom was invited to settle, but declined. 
October 13, 1800, the parish, in concurrence with the 
church, invited Mr. Moses Dow, of Atkinson, N. H., 
to settle with them, at a salary of $.500 per annum 
for the first five years, $480 for the sixth, and after 
that ,$400 per annum so long as he should continue 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 283 

with them. This invitation was accepted, and the 
18th of March, 1801, assigned for the ordination. 
The exercises of the occasion were as follows : in- 
troductory prayer by Rev. Mr. Adams, of Middleton ; 
sermon by Rev. Stephen Peabody, of Atkinson, N. 
H. ; consecrating prayer by Rev. Mr. Frisby, of Ips- 
wich : charge by Rev. Mr. French, of Andover; 
right hand of fellowship by Rev. Joseph M'Kean, of 
Beverly ; concluding prayer by Rev. Mr. AVebster, of 
Ipswich. 

Mr. Dow continued in the pastoral office here until 
1813, when his relations to the parish were dissolved 
by mutual council. Mr. Dow graduated at Dart- 
mouth college in 1796, and died at Plaistow, N. H., 
1837, aged 66. He was highly esteemed as a Christ- 
ian, as a man of talents, and as a public speaker. 
The council for dismission, of which the late Rev. 
Dr. Abbot was scribe, in their result say, " We have 
long known him, we have long loved and esteemed 
him ; and we most heartily add our testimonial to this 
of the church. We believe him to be an able and faith- 
ful, a discreet and devoted minister of Jesus Christ ; 
and while we lament his removal as a great loss to 
ourselves and this vicinity, we affectionately recom- 
mend him to the churches, and devoutly hope that he 
may soon be placed in a situation where his talents 
and virtues, his gifts and graces, may be employed 
for the benefit of many." His publications were : a 
funeral sermon, 1807, a fast sermon, 1812, and fare- 
well sermon, 1813. 

From 1814, to Dec. 15, 1816, the pulpit was sup- 
plied by Rev. David Batcheller and others, when a 
call to settle was given to Mr. Luther Wright, which 



284 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

he declined. Sept. 15, 1818, Rev. Humphrey Clark 
Perley was invited to settle. He accepted the invi- 
tation, and was installed on the 2d Dec. 1818. 
Eight clergymen were on the council, viz : Rev. Dr. 
Cutler of Hamilton, Rev. Benj. Wads worth of Dan- 
vers, Revs. Peter Eaton and Isaac Briggs, 1st and 
2d parishes in Boxford, Rev. Bailey Loring, Ando- 
ver. Rev. Abiel Abbot, Beverly, Rev. Mr. Thurston, 
Manchester, and Rev. Isaac Braman, Rowley. This 
connexion was dissolved by mutual consent June 
13, 1821; and measures were taken to supply the 
desk during the remainder of the year. August 13, 
1823, Mr. Ebenezer Poor received and accepted a 
call to the pastoral office, and was ordained Oct. 29, 
1823. Rev. Mr. Dana of Marblehead, offered the 
introductory prayer ; Rev. Mr. Walker of Danvers, 
preached the sermon ; Rev. Dr. Abbot of the first 
parish in this town, offered the ordaining prayer ; 
Rev. Dr. Wadsworth of Danvers, gave the charge ; 
Rev. Mr. Oliphant of the third church in Beverly, 
gave the right hand of fellowship; and Rev. Mr. 
Sperry of Wenham, made the concluding prayer. 
The connexion was dissolved at Mr. P's request, in 
March, 1829. During this and the year following, 
the desk was supplied by various clergymen. 

Mr. Poor was succeeded by Rev. Ebenezer Robin- 
son, who was installed in Oct. 1830. The exercises 
of the occasion were as follows : introductory prayer 
by Rev. Mr. Sewall of Danvers ; sermon by Rev. 
Mr. Bartlett of Marblehead; installing prayer by 
Rev. Mr. Loring of Andover ; charge by the same ; 
fellowship by Rev. Mr. Thayer of Beverly ; and ad- 
dress to the people by Rev. Mr. Sewall. Jan. 27, 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 285 

1833, Mr. Robinson requested a dismission, which 
was granted him. He was succeeded by the present 
incumbent, Edwin M. Stone. 

In 1837, after several meetings for consultation, 
the parish adopted measures to re-model the meeting- 
house, which were immediately carried into execu- 
tion. The original frame was retained, and removed 
about thirty feet north of its former site. The front 
is in the Grecian style, neat and tasteful, and shaded 
by a venerable elm. The interior aspect of the 
house is very pleasant. There are forty-two pews 
on the lower floor, and ten slips in the gallery, be- 
sides ample accommodations for the choir. The pul- 
pit is of mahogany ; it is of the altar form, open and 
unique in design. The house is surmounted with a 
cupola and furnished with a bell. 

The alterations were completed in about five 
months, and are highly creditable to the public spirit 
of the society. Feb. 1, 1838, the house was opened 
for public worship with appropriate solemnities, 
v/hich were participated in by a very large and 
crowded audience. The prayer of dedication was 
ofl*ered by Rev. C. T. Thayer, of the first church, 
and the sermon, from Haggai ii. 9, was delivered by 
the pastor. 

When the re-modelling of this house had been de- 
termined on, the committee of the fourth congrega- 
tional society politely tendered the use of their house 
of worship to the second parish, which was grate- 
fully accepted — the two congregations worshipping 
at different hours. 

Between the first and second churches an unin- 
terrupted and friendly communication has been 
maintained, from the organization of the latter to 
the present time ; and soon after the dedication just 



286 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

mentioned, the first church presented to the second 
a handsome silver communion- vessel, " as a token 
of the christian harmpny and fellowship which has 
long existed, and which it is devoutly to be desired 
mav ever continue, between these ancient sister 
churches." This beautiful and touching evidence 
of kindly feeling was acknowledged in the following 
resolutions : 

^'' Resolved^ That this church accept the ' token ' 
of sympathy and fellowship so appropriately offered, 
and that we hereby express our grateful acknow- 
ledgments for a gift calculated to remind us of our 
common sisterhood, covenants and worship. 

'■'■Resolved^ That the cup, which to every follower 
of our common Lord and Master is an emblem of 
undivided love, union and fellowship, be applied to 
the services connected with the most sacred of all 
recollections — the blood that was shed and the body 
that was broken ; and that as often as we drink of 
this cup, the spirit of this memorial will bind us to- 
gether, in the unity of the spirit and the bonds of 
peace." 



THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH 

Was constituted, March 25, 1801, of fourteen 
members dismissed from the Baptist church in Dan- 
vers. The meeting-house, 48 by 45 feet, was erect- 
ed the same year. In 1832 the house was enlarged 
by adding 16| feet to its length. The locality being 
inconvenient for a majority of the society, it was 
taken down in 1837, and reconstructed on a more 
central site under the direction of Nehemiah Roundy, 
Robert Curry, Edward Pousland, John Pickett, Sam- 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 287 

uel Smith, Benjamin Pierce, Francis Lamson, Andrew 
W. Standley, John P. Webber and John Meacom. 

The house is 62J feet long and 45 feet wide, and 
presents a handsome front, ornamented with pilas- 
ters. The tower contains a bell weighing about 
1300 pounds. The pulpit is of mahogany, and the 
interior aspect of the house is chaste. The cost of 
re-construction exceeded $7000. 

In September, 1801, the church was admitted to 
the fellowship of the Warren Association. The first 
minister was Rev. Joshua Young, who supplied the 
pulpit from May 7th, ISOl, to Dec. 1802, but was not 
installed. He was succeeded June 15th, 1803, by 
Rev. Ehsha Williams, a graduate of Yale College, 
whose pastoral relations were dissolved at his own 
request, Oct. Otli, 1812. An invitation was then 
given to Rev. Herry Jenks of Hudson, N. Y. and 
accepted. His settlement was prevented by his sud- 
den decease. 

August 14, 1816, Mr. Nathaniel West Williams, of 
Salem, was ordained, and continued in the office of 
pastor till Nov. 7, 1821, when, at his own request, 
he was dismissed. The successor of Mr. Williams 
was Mr. Francis G. Macomber, a graduate of Water- 
ville College. His health failed soon after his ordi- 
nation, and at the suggestion of several friends, of 
whom the late Dr. Abbot was one, he was induced 
to try the temperature of a southern winter for its 
recovery. He sailed for Charleston, S. C, where he 
spent several months, and died of fever July 3, 1827, 
soon after his return. The late Rev. Joseph Grafton, 
of Newton, who preached at his ordination, was also 
callei to discharge the melancholy duty of pronounc- 
ing his funeral discourse. Mr. Macomber's remains 



288 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

were interred in the first parish burial-ground, near 
the common, beside those of Rev. Samuel Ingersoll. 
He possessed an ardent and devout mind. He loved 
his profession as a high and holy calling, and gave 
earnest of extended usefulness. He was universally 
beloved, and his memory is still fondly cherished by 
many. In the course of his short ministry, forty-two 
members were added to the church. 

Feb. 1st, 1829, Rev. Richmond Taggart, from the 
State of New York, was chosen pastor, and contin- 
ued till December following, but was not installed. 

June 30th, 1830, Rev. Jonathan Aldrich, a gradu- 
ate of Brown University, Avas installed pastor ; and, 
at his own request, was dismissed May 24, 1833. 

September 10th, 1834, Mr. John Jennings, from the 
theological institution at Newton, was ordained 
pastor. He continued until June, 1836, and was 
then dismissed at his own request. In the month of 
August following, Rev. N. W. Williams Avas request- 
ed to return and resume the pastorship, with which 
he complied; and in March, 1840, at his own re- 
quest, he was dismissed. November 11, 1842, Mr. 
Charles W. Flanders, a graduate of Brown Univer- 
sity, was ordained pastor. The exercises of the oc- 
casion were as follows : introductory prayer and 
reading the scriptures, by Rev. P. P. Sanderson; ser- 
mon and charge, by Rev. Mr. Wayland, of Salem ; 
ordaining prayer, by Rev. Lemuel Porter; right hand 
of fellowship, by Rev. Mr. Banvard, of Salem ; ad- 
dress to the society, by Rev. L. Porter ; concluding 
prayer, by Rev. Joseph Abbot ; benediction, by the 
pastor elect. Several members of this church have 
been dismissed, to constitute churches in Salem, 
Gloucester and Wenham. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 289 



DANE-STREET CHURCH. 



The Dane-street Church was organized Novem- 
ber 9th, 1802. The society obtained an act of incor- 
poration March 7th, 1803, under the name of the 
Third Congregational Society, which name was 
changed in 1837 to the " Dane-street Society in Bev- 
erly." The meeting house was raised in September, 
1802, and finished in December, 1803, at an expense 
of between $6000 and $7000. The dedication ser- 
mon was preached by Rev. Samuel Worcester, D. D., 
of Salem. The house was 61 feet long and 50 feet 
wide, with a porch at each end, from which were en- 
trances to the floor and flights of stairs to the gal- 
lery. There was also an entrance to the body of the 
house from the south side. At the western end, a 
tower rose about twenty feet above the main build- 
ing, in which, about 1815, a bell was placed weigh- 
ing 1143 pounds. 

In the winter and spring of 1831, to accommodate 
an increasing congregation, some important altera- 
tions and improvements were made, which rendered 
the house much more convenient. On Saturday 
night, Dec. Sth, 1832, between 10 and 11 o'clock, a 
fire was discovered on the lower floor, near the entry, 
and in the balcony. The firemen and other citizens, 
with engines and fire apparatus, proceeded immedi- 
ately to the scene of conflagration, but their efforts 
were unavailing, and the. edifice was entirely de- 
stroyed. A reward of $500 was offered by the par- 
ish committee, but nothing conclusive, as to the ori- 
gin of the fire, was ever elicited. As no meeting had 
been held, and there had been no occasion for a fire 
25 



290 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

during the week, it was suspected to be the work of 
an incendiary. 

In 1833 a new house was erected, by shareholders, 
on the same site, 73 feet long and 63 feet wide. The 
architecture is a mixture of Gothic and Ionic. It is 
a convenient edifice, and its frontal view, with pillars, 
presents an imposing appearance. The house, includ- 
ing a fine-toned bell weighing 1600 lbs., cost about 
$10,000. 

'J'he first minister of this church and society was 
Rev. Joseph Emerson. 

Mr. Emerson, the son of Daniel and Ama Emer- 
son, was born in HoUis, N. H., October 13th, 1777, 
and at his birth was devoted in heart by his father 
to the ministry. Of this he was early informed, and 
the impression no doubt had some influence m form- 
ing his character. His constitution was greatly im- 
paired by a complicated disease with which he was 
attacked Avhen about six months old, and which last- 
ed more than a year. In childhood he was distin- 
guished for vivacity, regard for truth, and frankness 
in expressing his opinions. A vein of pleasantry 
ran through his whole life, but well subdued and 
modified in maturer years. In person he was tall 
and slender; complexion dark, eyes hazel, and ex- 
pression mild. His motions were quick, but not 
strong; and in the latter part of his life he was 
bowed and emaciated by disease. 

Mr. Emerson pursued his preparatory studies at 
the academy in New Ipswich, N. H., under the di- 
rection of Mr. Hubbard ; and in 1794, in the seven- 
teenth year of his age, entered Harvard University ; 
and though, durmg the period of his college life, he 
was subjected to much severe illness, he graduated 
with a good character for scholarship. While at 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 291 

Cambridge, his mind received strong religious im- 
pressions, and in 1797 he made a pubhc profession 
of rehgion, by uniting with the church in his native 
town. 

After leaving college, Mr. Emerson took charge of 
the academy in Framingham, wliere he continued 
about a year, and then removed to Franklin to pur- 
sue the study of divinity under the direction of Dr. 
Emmons. In 1800 he returned to Cambridge, with 
the intention of remaining six months as resident 
graduate of the college. While residing with Dr. 
Emmons he received, through President Willard, the 
offer of a tutorship, which he at first declined, but at 
length accepted. Having been approbated, he preach- 
ed in various places, though still pursuing his profes- 
sional studies. In March, 1803, he was engaged for six 
weeks in this town, and in June following received a 
call to the pastoral care of the third congregational 
society, which, after prayerful consideration, and 
counselling with christian friends, he accepted. His 
ordination took place on the 21st September. The 
exercises were introduced by a pertinent and solemn 
address to the crowded assembly, from Rev. Mr. 
Hopkins; Introductory prayer, by Rev. Mr. Kellog; 
sermon, by Rev. Dr. Emmons, from Eph. iii. 10; 
consecrating prayer, by Rev. Mr. Spring; charge, by 
Rev. Dr. Dana; fellowship of the churches, by Rev. 
Mr. Worcester; concluding prayer, by Rev. Mr. 
Bailey. 

Soon after his ordination, Mr. Emerson was mar- 
ried to Miss Nancy Eaton, of Framingham, a former 
pupil and friend, who, by education and temperament, 
aj)peared singularly qualified to promote his hterary 
and religious plans, as also to ensure domestic enjoy- 
ment. But this " treasure in an earthen vessel" he 



292 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

was not permitted long to possess, as, in less than a 
year from the consummation of their union, Mrs. 
Emerson died, having just entered her 26th year. 

In the summer of 1805, Mr. Emerson was again 
married to Miss Eleanor Read, of Northbridge, who 
was distinguished for energy of character and supe^ 
rior conversational powers. By this marriage he had 
one child, a daughter, who was early called to mourn 
a mother's loss. She died at Leicester, Nov. 7th, 
1808, where she had gone for the improvement of 
her health. This affliction was severely felt by Mr. 
Emerson, but in the religion he professed he found 
a present and efficient support. His third wife was 
Miss Rebecca Hasseltine, of Bradford, Mass. to whom 
he was married in 1810, and by whom he had sev- 
eral children. 

Mr. Emerson's ministry in this town was active 
and successful. Beside his ordinary pastoral duties, 
and the labor incurred in carrying out various plans for 
promoting the good of his charge, he devoted much 
attention to the subject of education, in which he 
felt an enthusiastic interest, and also prepared for 
the press the Memoir and Writings of Miss Fanny 
Woodberry, the Evangelical Primer, and several 
other works. 

In 1811, Mr. Emerson's right wrist was atTected by 
a disease that disabled him from using his pen. It 
settled afterwards in the left wrist, and finally in 
both anples, so that it became necessary for him to 
sit while performing the duties of the pulpit : and the 
state of his health, in 1816, was such as to require, 
in his judgment, a release, for a time at least, from 
professional labor. On the 21st September, just 
thirteen years from the day of his ordination, his 
pastoral relation was dissolved by mutual council. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 293 

" This crisis was doubtless extremely trying both for 
him and for his affectionate people. It was sunder- 
ing the bonds of first love on both sides, as he was 
their first minister and they his only people. Still, 
the severity of the shock was much broken by a long 
and gradually increasing anticipation of its neces- 
sity." 

After the dissolution of this connexion, Mr. Emer- 
son sailed for the south, where he passed the winter, 
with the hope of improving his health. In Wil- 
mington, N. C. he became a member of the masonic 
fraternity, and, on the 1st Jan. delivered an occa- 
sional sermon before the freemasons in that place. 
He also preached on several other occasions, and re- 
ceived numerous tokens of affection and regard. In 
Charleston, S. C. the following June, he delivered a 
course of lectures on the Millennium, which was pub- 
lished. 

After his return from the south, Mr. Emerson es- 
tablished a literary seminary at Byfield, and, in the 
ensuing winter, delivered a course of astronomical 
lectures to a popular audience in Boston. From By- 
field he removed to Saugus, where he continued his 
school. In the autumn of 1823, the state of his 
health requiring another voyage to the south, he 
sailed for Charleston, where he passed the winter in 
the society of kind friends, "forming plans and pro- 
jects"' for the future. On returning to Saugus, he 
continued his seminary through the summer, but his 
feeble state compelling him to relinquish it, he removed 
to Weathersfield, Con. In 1829, he visited his friends 
in Beverly, and delivered a conrse of lectures on his- 
tory. The winter of 1830 he spent in Charleston, 
S. C. and repeated his historical lectures. On his re- 
2o^ 



294 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

turn, he again visited Beverly, and gave a course of 
familiar lectures on Pollock's Course of Time. His 
literary labors were continued till near the close of 
his life, which terminated at Weathersfield, about 
midnight. May 13, 1833, in the 56th year of his age. 
He died without a struggle, and "peace — more than 
peace,'' were among the last words he was heard to 
utter. 

Mr. Emerson is remembered by his numerous friends 
with a more than ordinary depth of friendship; On 
some occasions he was inclined to reserve, but gen- 
erally the natural enthusiasm of his nature imparted 
a peculiar charm to his conversation, and made him 
a most welcome guest and desirable companion. As 
a student, he was diligent almost beyond the bounds 
of prudence, and the rapidity with which he multi- 
plied plans for the moral and intellectual improve- 
ment of mankind is a sufficient evidence of the ac- 
tivity of his mind. As a teacher of youth, he was 
original, practical and successful, and deeply inter- 
ested in the moral culture of his pupils. As a man, 
" he knew not how to dissemble nor to wear a 
mask. As a Christian, he was characterized for the 
habitual fervor of his devotional feelings, an earnest 
love of truth, a deep-wrought humility, and a warm 
and expanded benevolence." =^ 

Mr. Emerson was succeeded in the pastoral office 
in this place, by Rev. David Oliphant. The services 
of installation took place Feb. 18th, 1818, in the fol- 
lowing order : Introductory prayer by Rev. Mr. Da- 
na ; sermon by Rev. Dr. Porter ; consecrating prayer 
by Rev. Mr. Thurston ; charge by Rev. Mr. Worces- 

* See Life of Rev Joseph Emerson, by Prof. Ralph Emerson. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 295 

ter ; right hand of fellowship by Rev. Mr. Emerson; 
concluding prayer by Rev. Mr. Edwards. Mr. Oli- 
phant was dissmissed, agreeably to the result of a 
mutual council, in 1833, and Oct. 13th, 1834, Mr. Jo- 
seph Abbot was ordained pastor of the church and 
society, at which time the present meeting-house was 
also dedicated. The exercises of the occasion were 
as follows : Introductory prayer by Rev. Dr. Dana, 
of Newburyport : reading selections from the Scrip- 
tures by Rev. M. March, of Newbury; prayer of ded- 
ication by Rev. Leonard Withington, of Newbury; 
sermon by Rev. Professor Ralph Emerson, of Ando- 
ver Theological Seminary, from Johniii. 29; ordain- 
ing prayer by Rev. Mr. Dana, of Marblehead ; charge 
by Rev. Dr. Dana, of Newburyport; right hand of 
fellowship by Rev. Mr. Ober, of Newbury ; address 
to the church and society by Rev. Brown Emerson, 
of Salem ; concluding prayer by Rev. Mr. Emerson, 
of Manchester ; benediction by the pastor elect. 



FARMS CHURCH. 

The Farms Church was organized in 1829, for the 
better accommodation of the families residing in that 
part of the town, who were living from four to five 
miles distant from the meeting-houses in Beverly ; 
and September 23d, Mr. Benjamin Knight was or- 
dained as their pastor, in the meeting-house of the 
first parish. The introductory prayer was offered 
by Rev. Mr. Robinson, of Rowley ; sermon by Rev. 
Mr. Millard, from the State of New York ; ordaining 
prayer, by Rev. Mr. Kilton, of Salem; right hand of 



296 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

fellowship, by Ilev. Mr. Pierce, of Essex. The name 
assumed by the church, was Christian. In January, 
1830. their meeting-house was dedicated to the pub- 
Uc worship of God. This house is of brick, about 
forty feet square, and contains forty-four pews on 
the ground floor, besides six in the gallery. The 
cost was about $1600. August 4, 1831, the first 
church presented this church a silver tankard, with 
the following inscription: "The gift of the First 
Church in Beverly to the Church at Beverly Farms." 
The present was suitably acknowledged in a letter 
from the pastor. Mr. Knight afterwards united with 
the Baptist denomination, with which the church is 
now in fellowship, and in 1834 or '35, his pastoral 
relation was dissolved. His successors have been 
Rev. Mr. Gilbert, Rev. P. P. Sanderson and Rev. 
Sumner Hale. 



FOURTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 

The Fourth Congregational Church was organ- 
ized September 1, 1834, and the society December 
11th following. The corner-stone of a new meet- 
ing-house was laid, and the frame erected, September 
6th, 1836, on which occasion a prayer was offered 
by the pastor. Rev. John Foote. The house was 
consecrated December 29th, the same year. The 
services on the occasion, besides appropriate music, 
were as follows : Introductory prayer and reading 
select portions of the Scriptures, by Rev. E. P. Sperry, 
of Wenham ; prayer of dedication, by Rev. Joseph 
Abbot, of Beverly ; sermon, from Psalm Ixxxiv. 2, 3, 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 297 

by Rev. Brown Emerson, D.D. of Salem ; conclud- 
ing prayer, by Rev. John Foote. The exercises were 
interesting and appropriate, and were participated in 
by a large assembly. 

The meeting-house, which presents a neat appear- 
ance, is located opposite the house formerly the resi- 
dence of Rev. John Chipman. It was erected by Mr. 
Jacob Dodge, of Wenham, under the superintendence 
of Messrs. Benjamin Woodberry 2d, Peter Shaw, 
Samuel Lummus, Francis Woodberry and Charles 
Moid ton. The house is fifty -one feet long, thirty- 
seven feet wide, and is surmounted by a cupola with 
pinnacles. It is entered by two doors, and contains 
forty-six pews, besides six slips for the choir. The 
whole cost, including the site, was about $2,500. 



WASHINGTON-STREET SOCIETY. 

The Washington-street Society was formed in 
183G. The meeting-house was raised September 5th 
of the same year, on which occasion religious ser- 
vices were performed by Rev. David Oliphant, for- 
merly pastor of the Dane-street church. This house 
was built by William Webber and Benjamin P. Kim- 
ball, under the superintendence of Jonathan Batch- 
elder, Philip English and Ezra EUingwood. It is 
77 feet long and 52 feet wide. The pulpit is of 
mahogany, and the whole interior arrangements 
are neat and convenient. A handsome Grecian por- 
tico ornaments the front, and the cupola contains a 
bell weighing 1738 pounds. The whole cost was 
$93S7 33. The house is eligibly situated on Wash- 



298 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

iiigton-street, the appearance of which it greatly 
improves. 

The church was coDStitutecl February 8th, 1837, 
and March 29th following, the meeting-house was 
dedicated to the service of G^od, — on which occasion 
an appropriate discourse was delivered by Rev. 
Worthington Smith, of St. Albans, Vt. from Gen. 
xxviii. 17. On the 3d of January, 1838, Rev. Wil- 
liam Bushnell was installed pastor of the church and 
congregation. The interesting solemnities were as 
follows : Introductory prayer by Rev. Mr. McEwin. 
of Topsfield ; sermon by Rev. William Williams, of 
Salem ; installing prayer by Rev. Brown Emerson, 
of Salem ; charge by Rev. Robert Crowell, of Essex : 
right hand of fellowship by Rev. Joseph Abbot, of 
Beverly ; address to the people by Rev. Milton P. 
Bramin, of Danvers; concluding prayer by Rev. 
Samuel Worcester, of Salem. May 9th, 1842, Rev. 
Mr. Bushnell, at his own request, and by advice 
of a mutual council, was dismissed from his pastoral 
relations, having previously received an invitation 
to become pastor of the first church and society in 
Newton. 

Mr. Bushnell was succeeded by Mr. George T. 
Dole, whose ordination took place Oct. 6, 1842. The 
introductory prayer was ofi^red by Rev. Mr. Foote. 
of Beverly ; sermon by Rev. Mr. Blanchard, of Low- 
ell, from Rom. x. 4; ordaining prayer by Rev. Mr. 
Mann, of Salem ; charge by Rev. Dr. Emerson, of 
Salem ; fellowship of the churches by Rev. Mr. Tay- 
lor, of Manchester ; address to the church and society 
by Rev. Mr. Worcester, of Salem ; concluding prayer 
by Rev. Mr. Sessions, of Salem ; benediction by the 
pastor elect. 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 299 

A Universalist Society was organized in 1839, 
and meetings are occasionally held in the town-hall. 



SABBATH SCHOOLS. 

From the establishment of the first church in this 
town, the religious education of the young was made 
a part of ministerial duty. The parish minister vis- 
ited the families of his charge at least once in each 
year, or gathered the children at some convenient 
place for catechetical instruction. About the com- 
mencement of the present century this practice, ow- 
ing probably to a diversity of views concerning the 
manuals used, fell into disuse, and nearly the whole re- 
sponsibility devolved on parents and guardians. The 
devout and conscientious among them faithfully exe- 
cuted their trust ; but still many youth were found 
to be growing up under no other religious influence 
than that resulting from public worship on the sab- 
bath, which, as it was not always seconded by moral 
precept through the week, often failed to produce its 
legitimate and happiest eflect. The evil resulting to 
society from the neglect of domestic religious instruc- 
tion, was felt and acknowledged throughout the 
country. As the interest deepened for the moral 
improvement of the rising generation, various plans 
were suggested and temporarily adopted. The sab- 
bath-school system originated by Robert Raikes in 
England, for the benefit of the neglected children of 
his neighborhood, now began to attract public notice, 
and one of the earliest trials of it in New England 
was made in this town. In 1810, two ladies of the 



300 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

first church (Miss Joanna Prince, now Mrs. Ebenezer 
Everett, of Brunswick, Me., and Miss Hannah Hill,) 
collected a number of children and commenced a 
Sunday-school. Their eiforts were crowned with 
entire success, and they before long enjoyed the plea- 
sure of witnessing the establishment of similar insti- 
tutions in each of the religious societies in town. 
The number of pupils and teachers connected with all 
the schools, is between eleven and twelve hundred, 
and the catalogues of the different libraries present an 
aggregate of nearly 2000 volumes. 

The importance of Sunday-schools is a point too 
well established and too universally admitted, to 
require argument or illustration. As related to the 
future, their value is incalculable. The held they 
open for moral culture is all the most devoted friends 
of religious progress can desire. They constitute at 
once the fountain of the church and the nursery of 
public morals. Among the pleasing incidents in their 
history here, is a Union celebration of the Fourth of 
July, 1842. 

At eight o'clock, a. m., according to previous ar- 
rangement, the sabbath-schools connected with the 
seven churches, accompanied by their teachers and 
respective pastors, entered the public square on the 
southerly side of the town-hall, where a stage had 
been prepared for the performance of the services of 
the occasion, which were participated in by Rev. 
Messrs. Thayer, Abbot, Stone and Flanders. After 
the singing of a hymn by a large volunteer choir, 
an appropriate and impressive prayer was offered by 
Rev. Mr. Thayer of the first church. This was suc- 
ceeded by a temperance hymn, sung to the inspiring 
strain of " Scots wha hae." Robert Rantoul, jr. Esq., 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 301 

then addressed the teachers and pupils, amounting to 
between eleven and twelve hundred, and the crowd 
of spectators, amounting probably to as many more. 
His subject was the effects of the declaration of inde- 
pendence on us, and its probable effects on our child- 
ren. He contrasted the present with former methods 
of celebrating the nation's birth. Formerly our re- 
joicings were for victories bought with blood — now 
we triumph in moral victories. He spoke also of the 
temperance movements as a sign of good, and of the 
influence of sabbath-schools on the present and future 
condition of our country. Much, he said, of the 
present happy condition of this nation was owing to 
institutions like those assembled around him. Anoth- 
er hymn was then sung, and the services closed with 
a benediction by Rev. Mr. Flanders. 

The scene was one of intense interest. The happy 
countenances of so many youth hemming the verdant 
lawn, and the eager gaze of the multitude surround- 
ing the square and thronging the windows of the 
adjacent houses, formed a picture of surpassing beauty ; 
and as a thousand voices swelled upon the air with 
melodious sounds, the mind leaped forward with the 
swiftness of thought to the glorious consummation of 
prophecy, when the united and innumerable assem- 
bly of the redeemed will fill the eternal temple with 
songs of everlasting praise. 

After the exercises on the square were closed, the 
schools formed in procession, and marching through 
several streets entered the town-hall, where an ele- 
gant collation had been provided, on which a blessing 
was craved by Rev. Mr. Foote. Here the scene was 
more animating, if possible, than that just described. 
The tables were tastefully decorated with flowers, 
26 



302 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

and profusely provided with cake and fruits. The 
pupils were seated, and served by their teachers, and 
for an hour or more, a rational and orderly hilarity 
was indulged, with no other stimulant than cold 
water. It was truly a spectacle for gratulation and 
hope, and the enchanting display might incline an 
imaginative spectator to the suspicion that the " mod- 
est inquiry into the nature of witchcraft " put forth 
by the pious pastor of the first church in 1692, had 
failed to answer its design, and that the necromantic 
art still prevailed. It was evident, however, that if 
such were the fact, the character of enchantresses 
had radically changed. They were no longer like 
the " weird sisters " of Avon's bard, performing their 
orgies in lonely glens and gloomy caverns, or " flying 
over steeples, towers and turrets," as wayward dis- 
positions prompted. Nor did they resemble those of 
Salem Village memory, who were said to appear in 
hideous forms, and torment good people " before their 
time." Beyond a doubt, the fair enchantresses of the 
day were of the good genii order, and the exercise 
of their art to gratify was entirely successful. They 
had here called up a beautiful reality, the delightful 
impressions of which time will only serve to deepen. 
The christian and social sympathies awakened by 
the occasion will not pass away with the hour that 
gave them birth. We rejoice to believe that they will 
have a permanent existence, and produce extensive 
good. 



CONCLUSION. 



The changes wrought in two hundred years have 
not been dissimilar here to those which have marked 
the progress of civilization elsewhere. The sturdy- 
forests have become fruitful fields. The footpaths 
of the aboriginal owners have been supplanted by 
numerous and well-constructed highways ; the rude 
" log cabins " of the early settlers have given place 
to neat and commodious dwellings ; and nothing in 
its aspect remains to testify that, two centuries ago, 
the town was a howling wilderness ! The habits of 
the first settlers, if tradition may be relied upon, 
were simple, and in harmony with the rudeness of 
their habitations. The conveniences of life were 
few — its luxuries less. The table presented little 
that was tempting to an epicurean palate, yet a long 
and vigorous life and " a short doctor's bill " were 
doubtless satisfactory equivalents for the '' delicate 
morsels " so indispensable to a modern gourmand. 
More of the farinaceous and less of the animal en- 
tered into the composition of their food. Knives 
and forks were in limited use, but spoons were in 
universal requisition. The joint of meat seldom ex- 
haled its savory odour to quicken a sluggish appe- 
tite ; but the huge pot might be daily seen suspended 
by " the long trammel" over an ample fire, fulfilling 



334 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

its destiny in blending, with mysterious simmerings, 
the ingredients which composed the standard dishes 
of the age — black broth and bean porridge. The 
popular esculent of the Emerald Isle was but little 
cultivated, and as little used ; but the emblem of 
Dutch obesity, commonly known as the Dutch tur- 
nip, was a universal favorite both in the field and 
on the table. Six bushels of potatoes were a suffi- 
cient winter's supply for a neighborhood, but fifty 
bushels of turnips were necessary to the comfort of 
a single family. 

Among the articles not indispensable, that early 
found grace in the eyes of the provident housewife, 
the "wooden trencher" holds a conspicuous place. 
Its neatly sunken interior surface rendered it a con- 
venient substitute for delf or finer potter's ware, and 
Vvhen SGGuied to almost linen whiteness, and placed 
before the " good-man" at the hour of repast, it is 
not surprising that his eyes twinkled with satisfac- 
tion. It was not an every-day luxury, enjoyed by 
the mass, and happy the favored household in hum- 
ble life who could substitute an article so well con- 
trived, for the square bit of board that served the 
purpose of a plate. But short-lived was the trench- 
er's triumph. The " good-wife " grew weary of 
her rustic ware, and soon the ample " dresser " dis- 
played its rows of shining pewter, from the "great 
platter" down by regular gradation to the little 
"porringer" with its broad lattice-work handle, 
combining show with economy, and displacing for- 
ever its unpretending predecessor, while the angular 
shelves of the " bowfat " in the corner of the 
" clock-room," were graced by a " tea-set " of more 
brittle ware, used only " for company " or on holiday 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 305 

occasions. These, too, had their day, and a glorious 
one it was in the house of thrift. But its sun has 
set. Piece by piece, the pride of the kitchen has 
sunk into that " receptacle for things lost," the 
Yankee pedler's wagon, and the workmanship of 
Liverpool " reigns in their stead." 

The sanded floor, so curiously drawn in figures, 
is no longer the theatre of the house-maid's skill. 
Paint has usurped her vocation, while a " Wilton," 
or the manufacture of Brussels, adorns the " best 
room," with their accompaniments of stuffed chairs, 
ottomans and sofas. The capacious '' settle," too, 
the birth-place of many a winter evening's tale, is 
gone. The mammoth fire-place, on whose ample 
hearth once blazed huge logs and crackhng faggots, 
and within whose deep jambs the youthful household 
speculated on the distance of the stars that met their 
upward gaze, has been supplanted by the economi- 
cal and unsocial stove. The "good-wife" and 
modest maiden no longer mount the tastefully trim- 
med pillion, as, at the church bell's bidding, '^good- 
man" and "intended" convey them to the sanc- 
tuary. The jolting chair has yielded precedence to 
the chaise and carriage. The flowing wig and ven- 
erable cocked hat, so cherished by ministers, dea- 
cons and all high in office, are among the things that 
were. The huckster's stand, and the portable " bar" 
emitting its alcoholic fumes, have ceased to collect a 
motley group of patrons at the church door on ordi- 
nation days, blending as it were, pandemonium with 
paradise. Hoops and pattens, silk clocks and top- 
knots, tunics and scarlet riding cloaks, sacks and 
ruffle cuffs, smallclothes and silver buckles, em- 
broidered vests and neck-ties, powdered hair and 
26^ 



306 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

cues, have all mirrored the fashion of their time, 
and given place to the less stately, but perhaps not 
less graceful, costume of the present. 

To the legendary there are few points of interest 
in this town, and but little to gratify lovers of the 
marvellous. It is true, the accusation of witchcraft 
reached several of its inhabitants and procured their 
condemnation during the prevalence of that popular 
frenzy : but neither of them was executed here or 
elsewhere, nor is it known or suspected that Kidd 
or any other bucaniers ever buried any of their ill- 
gotten booty in the sands of this harbor. Here are 
neither gloomy caverns nor murderous-looking glens, 
with which are associated tales of terror and woe. 
No fortune-teller has ever had habitation here, to 
give eclat to the annals of mystery, neither has the 
appearance of a veritable ghost ever been authenti- 
cated. In these, and many similar particulars, Bev- 
erly must relinquish the palm to other towns. And 
though it may dissipate the illusion of a well-told 
story, and take somewhat from the capital of suc- 
ceeding writers of fiction, as well as lose to the town 
a certain description of notoriety, regard for truth 
compels the affirmation that Galloivs Bridge is a 
corruption of Salloivs, (the name of a family early 
settled in that neighborhood,) and that no execution 
ever took place in this town. 

The inhabitants of this town are characterized for 
industry, prudence, sobriety and love of order. That 
they possess a commendable public spirit, the im- 
provement of their streets, churches, and other pub- 
lic buildings, affords sufficient evidence. They have 
never been eager to engage in extravagant specula- 
tions, by which many make unsuccessful ''haste to 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 307 

be rich," but have been contented with a safe and 
sure business, affording moderate and uniform prof- 
its. Hence, they have experienced few of those 
embarrassments by which the prosperity of many 
places have been seriously affected, while they have 
built up for themselves a sound and honorable credit. 
There is nothing pecuhar in the address or habits of 
the present generation, by which they are distin- 
guished from other towns in the county. The anec- 
dote related, of the vessel saiUng from this port mak- 
ing signal of distress, when within three days of her 
destination, in consequence of having but three bar- 
rels of beans on board, though plentifully supplied 
with other provisions, was doubtless intended as a 
pleasantry upon the supposed unusual consumption 
of that article here ; but, like many other fictions, 
has not the merit of a fact to give it point. 

Instances of litigation in this town have been few. 
The late Nathan Dane, who for many years had the 
entire business, observed some time before his de- 
cease, that his receipts for practice as a lawyer, in 
Beverly, had never been sufficient to pay his annual 
bill for fuel. So reluctant have the citizens generally 
been to adjust their difficulties by legal process, that 
no member of the profession has ever obtained a 
livelihood here from his fees alone. Criminal prose- 
cutions have also been rare ; and it was recently re- 
marked, by a distinguished member of the Essex bar, 
as a singular fact in his experience, that during a 
practice in the courts of nearly forty years, he had 
never known a native of Beverly convicted of any 
heinous crime. 

The clerical profession has ever sustained here a 
high character for talents, piety and patriotism. The 



308 HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 

records of the town, and of the parishes, show that 
the clergymen took enlarged views of their duties 
and responsibilities as pastors and citizens ; and that, 
besides the labor they devoted to the cause of educa- 
tion, their services were frequently required by the 
town in the transaction of important public affairs. 

It is pleasant and instructive to contemplate the 
character of the generations who have lived here 
before us. For the most part, they were a pious 
people, and mingled the religious sentiment with all 
their acts. Their numerous fasts declare with what 
constancy they relied on an interposing providence 
in every scene of trial and hour of calamity. They 
loved the house of God, as the place in which they 
might feel the divine presence, and improve their 
hearts, refresh their spirits, and be disburdened of 
their sorrows. To them and their household, the 
sabbath was a day of sacred rest. Before sunset on 
Saturday, the toils of the week were closed. The 
meat and vegetables were brought from the cellar 
and prepared, as far as possible, for the Sunday din- 
ner ; and when the sabbath sun arose, the stillness of 
the day was not permitted to be disturbed by unne- 
cessary noise. No member of the family was excus- 
ed from "meeting," except for sickness; the bible 
and religious books engaged the attention of each be- 
tween the seasons of worship; rambling in the fields, 
riding for pleasure, and visits, were prohibited ; the 
children were "catechised," and questioned concern- 
ing the sermon ; and at an early hour retired to re- 
pose. They were a prayerful people, and there were 
but few dwellings in which a family altar was not to 
be found. They sincerely desired to train their fam- 
ilies in the nurture and admonition of the Lord ; and 



HISTORY OF BEVERLY. 309 

though some may think the means employed were 
not always the best adapted to accomplish the end, 
or may smile at their '^puritan strictness," it is a 
point worth considering, how much is likely to be 
gained to morals by a less scrupulous sanctification 
of holy time. 

The religious character of preceding generations 
has doubtless contributed essentially to the sound- 
ness of moral sentiment at the present day. The 
direct influence of Christianity on the habits of the 
inhabitants of this town, is visible and general. The 
number who habitually absent themselves from pub- 
lic worship, is comparatively small ; and the institu- 
tions of religion are, for the most part, liberally sus- 
tained. 

To the young, the pages of the Past are replete 
with practical suggestions. In the integrity, patriot- 
ism, reverence for constitutional law, and piety, of 
their ancestors, they may perceive the index that 
points their own course to usefulness, respectability 
and happiness. 



NOTES. 



A. — PAGE 27. 

" The battle of Bloody Brook, that fierce onslaught, of which 
the old record says, with a native poetry, ' Never had this coun- 
try seen such a bloody hour,' " has been celebrated by one of our 
native poets (George Lunt) in a ballad, from which are subjoined 
the closing stanzas : 

" Ah, gallant few ! No generous foe 

Had met them by that crimsoned tide ; 
Vain even despair's resistless blow, — 

As brave men do and die, — they died! 
Yet not in vain, — a cry that shook 

The inmost forest's desert glooms, 
Swelled o'er their graves, until it broke 

In storm around the red man's homes ! 

" But beating hearts, far, far away. 

Broke at their story's fearful truth. 
And maidens sweet, for many a day 

Wept o'er the vanished dreams of youth ; 
By the blue distant ocean-tide, 

Wept years, long years, to hear them tell 
How by the wild wood's lonely side 

The FLOWER OF Essex fell ! 

" And that sweet nameless stream, whose flood 

Grew dark with battle's ruddy stain. 
Threw off the tinge of murder's blood, 

And flowed as bright and pure again ; 
But that wild day, — its hour of fame, — 

Stamped deep its history's crimson tears, 
Till Bloody Brook became a name 

To stir the hearts of after years ! " 



NOTES. 311 



B.— PAGE 120. 

During the revolutionary war, the vessel on board of which a part 
of the library of the celebrated Dr. Richard Kirwan was shipped 
for transportation across the Irish channel, was captured by an 
American privateer. These books were brought into Beverly and 
sold. A company of gentlemen, consisting of Rev. J. Willard 
and Dr. Joshua Fisher, of Beverly, Rev. S. Barnard, Rev. J. 
Prince, Dr. E. A. Holyoke and Dr. J. Orne, of Salem, and Rev. 
M. Cutler, of Hamilton, became the purchasers ; and thus was 
laid the foundation of the Salem Philosophical Library (probably 
in the spring of 1781). The Philosophical Library and the So- 
cial Library, formed in 1760, were united in 1810, under the name 
of the Salem Athenaeum. 



C.—PAGE 156. 

Henry Hale, the second son of Robert Hale, sen. was born in 
Beverly, Dec. 19, 1712- At the age of seven, his father died, and 
the responsibility of his preparatory studies and collegiate educa- 
tion devolved on his brother, to whom he was tenderly attached. 
He graduated at Harvard College in 1731, at the age of 19, and 
was master of the grammar-school in this town one or more years. 
August 25th, 1735, he was married to Anna, daughter of Benja- 
min Ober. The time of his death is not known ; but his wife was 
a widow in 1740, in which year she sold an estate to William 
Bartlett, of Marblehead, for £300. Henry Hale owned a lot of 
land " at upper side" (probably second parish), and a " right in 
Gilmantown." In an account current, his brother credits his es- 
tate with £7.10 for " his part of the land of Nod, sold to John 
How." The only remains of Henry, are a few letters written to 
Col. Robert Hale, while in college. 



312 



NOTES. 



D. 



Province Tax. — The following table exhibits the amount of the 
Province tax assessed in various years from 1670 to 1751, witli 
the proportion paid by the county of Essex and by this town : 



Years. 


Tax Assesse 


d. 


Paid by County. 


Paid by Beverly. 


1670 


£1,205 13 









£14 10 


1674 


1,299 9 


2 






15 13 


1675 


unknown. 








16 


1675-6 


1,280 9 


11 






16 8 


1692 


30,000 





*£4,851 11 


6 


*297 15 11 


1696 


9,619 10 





2,403 





120 


1698 


8,168 5 





1,916 5 





100 


1702 


6,063 14 


6 


1,400 2 





68 2 


1705 


22,422 10 





5,272 10 





261 


1709 


22,778 7 


3 


5,320 4 


2 


261 


1710 


about same. 


about same. 


about same. 


1711 


u 




u 




u 


1712 


<( 




a 




u 


1713 


u 




u 




u 


1714 


il 




u 




125 9 


1715 


1],000 





2,556 14 


2 


unknown. 


1721 


6,000 





not complete. 


60 18 9 


1726 


20,000 





4,118 8 


8 


199 7 


1730 


10,591 18 





2,063 19 


5 


97 13 


1737 


48,920 9 


3 


9,855 13 


6 


392 4 3 


1741 


tl8,000 





1,823 18 


6 


70 6 3 


1746 


3,169 1 


3 


6,034 2 





236 11 9 


1751 


35,685 





6,513 7 





237 1 



* Paid on two parts. 



t '' Present tenor. 



NOTES. 313 



E.— PAGE 174. 

The following persons belonging to Beverly were committed to 
Mill Prison, England, during the revolutionary war: — 

Michael Down, of brig Rambler, taken Oct. 21, 1779 ; commit- 
ted Feb. 16, 1780. 

Benjamin Chipman, of schooner Warren, taken Dec. 27, 1777, 
and committed June 4, 1778.* 

Joseph Leach was taken and committed to Pembroke Prison, 
in 1779, and re-committed to Mill Prison, Oct. 14, 1780.t 

Joseph Perkins, Levi Woodbury ,| Robert Raymond, Matthew- 
Chambers, and Andrew Peabody, of ship Essex, taken June 10, 
1781; committed July 21, 1781. James Lovett and Benjamin 
Sprague, of same ship, committed Aug. 25, 1781. 

William Haskell, of the brig Eagle, taken June 21, 1780; 
committed July 25, 1781. Alexander Carrico and George Groce, 
of same brig, committed Feb. 6, 1782. 

John Baker, of brig Black Princess, taken Oct. 11, 1781 ; com- 
mitted Oct. 20, 1781. 

John Tuck, Thomas Hadden, Josiah Foster, Hezekiah Thissell, 
Nathaniel Woodbury and Zebulon Obear, of Snow Diana, taken 
June 15, 1781, and committed Jan. 23, 1782. 



F. PAGE 41, 

Letter from Col. Robert Hale to Gov. Belcher. 
May it please your Excellency : 

It is not a contempt of the authority of your Excellency and his 
Majesty's Council, but a hearty desire to the interest of my coun- 
try, that inclines me steadily to pursue the affair of the Manufac- 
tory scheme, in which I am engaged ; and as, by your Excellen- 
cy's proclamation of the 5th instant, that is made incompatible 
with my holding a commission under the government, I do now 
most readily and cheerfully resign the trust of a Justice of the 

* Run -away. 

t Entered a man-of-war, with fifteen others, June 5, 1781. 

:j: Died, probably in prison. 

27 



314 NOTES. 

Peace, which I received by your Excellency's favor, and always 
endeavored to execute to the honor of his Majesty and the good 
of his subjects, so far as concerned me. 

T am your Excellency's most obedient and 
Most dutiful humble serv't, 

Robert Hale, 
To his Excellency Governor Belcher. 
Boston, Nov. 10th, 1740. 

G. PAGE 44. 

William Shirley, Esq. Captain General and Governor in Chief in 
and over his Majesty^s Province of the Massachusetts Bay, in 
JVew England. 

[seal.] To Robert Hale, Esq. Greeting. 

Whereas the Council and House of Representatives of the 
Province aforesaid, did, by public resolve or vote, on the 15th day 
of this month, February, declare their sense of the importance 
and necessity of an expedition for erecting a strong fortress upon 
his Majesty's lands near the French fort, at Crown Point, and did 
likewise, in the same vote, desire me to apply to divers others of 
his Majesty's governments, and to urge them in such manner as I 
should think most effectual to join their forces with the forces of 
this government in such an expedition : — I do therefore, reposing 
special trust and confidence in your known loyalty, integrity and 
ability, constitute and empower you, the said Robert Hale, in the 
name and behalf of this his Majesty's Province, to make applica- 
tion to the government of New Hampshire to solicit the said gov- 
ernment to a compliance with the proposals made by the Council 
and House of Representatives of this Province, and to such other 
measures for promoting such an expedition as shall appear to you 
for his Majesty's service, and shall be agreeable to the instructions 
you may receive from me for your conduct in this affair. 

In testimony whereof, I have caused the public seal of the 
Province of Massachusetts Bay aforesaid to be hereunto affixed. 
Dated at Boston, the 22d day of February, 1755, in the 28th year 
of his Majesty's reign. W. Shirley. 

By his Excellency's command : 
J. WiLLARD, Stc'ry. . 



CHRONOLOGICAL APPENDIX. 



1638. Jan- 22. John Winthrop, jr. had liberty from his father, 
Gov. Winthrop, to set up salt-works at Rial- 
side, and to have wood enough for carrying on 
the works, and pasture for two cows. 

1655. Jeffrey's Creek is called Manchester. 

1607. Nov. 6. The town agreed to lay out the ways, from the 
meeting-house to the mill. 

Dec. 10. The church held a fast by order of the General 

Court, " for the trouble of God's people in England 
and elsewhere abroad — for the tokens of God's 
displeasure in this land, in the loss of divers of 
the vessels by sea, and divers sins abounding; in 
which day we made it one special part of the 
work to seek the Lord's favor to look upon the 
church, to direct and prosper the small begin- 
nings, and continue his presence and mercy with 
us." 

1668. Mar. 26. A general fast observed, " appointed by the coun- 

cil of magistrates, to mourn for profaneness, su- 
perstition and popery increasing — prayers for tlie 
king and parliament," &c. 

1669. Aug. 4. " Fast by the congregation because of immoderate 

rains, blasting mildew, cold and storms, to find 
out the cause and desire the removal of God's 
frown." 

Aug. 16. " By unanimous consent of the whole congrega- 
tion, a fast appointed for great sins abounding 
and breaking forth scandalously in this country — 
deaths of five ministers in about half a year," &c. 

Nov. 17. Public thanksgiving to bless the Lord for stay- 
ing the immoderate rains which tlireatened to de- 
stroy the whole harvest of corn and fresh hay, 
and for the harvest the Lord hath given. 



316 CHRONOLOGICAL APPENDIX. 

1670, Apr. 7. " A day of fasting kept by the congregation under 
a sense of God's frowning dispensations, in tak- 
ing from this jurisdiction six ministers away from 
his church by death, in Uie last year, and permit- 
ting those divisions and breaches, which are al- 
ready begun in sundry churches and feared of 
more ; and continuing the snow so long on the 
earth, and the frost in the ground, hindering seed- 
time, and pinching cattle for want of food ; that 
the Lord may reform us of the sins we have pro- 
voked him by, and return unto our churches in 
mercy, and reserve for us the appointed weeks of 
seed-time and harvest, and prevent blighting and 
mildew this summer, so far as may be for his 
glory and our good." 

June 16. A day of fasting appointed by the General Court, 

observed, on account of prevailing sins. 

Sept. 22. A fast appointed by the council of magistrates, 

observed, " because of the low estate of the 
churches of God all over the world, and the in- 
crease of sin and evil among ourselves, and God's 
hand following us for the same." 

Nov. 24. A public thanksgiving appointed by the General 

Court, "for our peace and liberty continued, and 
the last year crowned with God's goodness in 
answer of prayer." 

1672. Feb. 14. The town contributed £13 towards the funds of 
Harvard College. 

Mar. 18. Bounds between Beverly and Manchester settled 

by agreement. 

May 15. The General Court granted the town one barrel of 

powder. John Stone, by vote of the town, de- 
sired to keep an ordinary or tavern, one year. 

1675. June 29. A fast held by order of the council, upon the rising 

of Indians about Swansey. 

1676. Dec. 5. The town chose two constables, " by reason of the 

difficulties of the times on account of the Indian 
war." 

1678. John Edwards was allowed £3 for killing three 

wolves. 

1679. Feb. 13. Andrew Elliot and Nehemiah Grover had liberty 



CHRONOLOGICAL APPENDIX. 317 

to cut two loads of timber on the town's common, 
to be used in building a ketch. 

Mar. 29. John West presented a flagon to the church, " as a 

token of his love." 

1684. Dec. 4. " John Batchelder and his wife being deceased, 

gave good hope of their being in tlie faith, and if 
they had lived longer, purposed to join in com- 
munion with this church, but being prevented by 
death, their children are subjects of baptism." 
In 1676, the children of John Dixey, deceased, 
were baptized on similar grounds. 

The town this year voted to purchase land to 
enlarge the common. 

1685. Measures were adopted for laying out the road 

from the second parish meeting-house to Topsfield. 

1690. The selectmen afforded relief to Lawrence Den- 

nis and family, who were sick with smallpox. 
The town borrowed £48 10s. " to buy great guns 
and ammunition," jyid to build a fort for defence. 

1695-6. The road between the first parish meeting-house 

and Manchester laid out two rods wide. 

1696. Dec. 22. The town allowed Isaac Woodberry to cut timber 

for the masts and yards of a vessel he was then 
building. 

1697. Money in the hands of Deacon Hill, contributed 

to redeem some person from Turkish captivity, 
not being improved, was devoted to the relief of 
the poor. 

1700. May 2. A storm of rain and hail commenced which con- 
tinued three days. Many cattle were lost. 

Sept 22. Miss Emma Leach, aged 52, and only 25 inches 

in height, visited Salem and excited much curi- 
osity. 

1706, Standard weights and measures provided by the 

town. 

1710. The town paid 3s. 6d. for " treating" the jury and 

attornies who attended court in a suit with Salem. 

1711. Mihil Sallows and Joseph Gray killed by Indians 

at Winter harbor. Snow fell this winter eight 

feet on a level. 

27^ 



olb CHRONOLOGICAL APPENDIX. 

1712-13. The town granted a lot of land to the people at 

the Farms, on which to set a schoolhouse. 

1714-15, Benjamin Dike killed by Indians at Cape Sable. 

1715-16. At a town meeting it was " voted, that votes sealed 

up and orderly sent into this meeting by persons 
qualified for voting in said meeting, that cannot 
attend either by sickness or being removed out of 
town about tlieir lawful business, be allowed to 
pass with the other votes of the same nature." 

1722. John Ober chosen town clerk. He remained in 

office till 1733, and was again chosen in 1735. 

1733-1. Bartlett-street laid out to the sea at Tuck's Point. 

1742. A person chosen constable was excused from serv- 

ing, not being able to write or read. Voted to 
repair Thissle's bridge. 

1746. Selectmen received £40, old tenor, for the relief 

of Jane Bartlett, whose husband was in the army 
at Cape Breton. 

1748. The town voted a bounty of 20s. for old foxes and 

10s. for young. 

1751. Mill Lane laid out. 

1753. The town voted a bounty of 2s. on every dog's 

head brought to the town treasurer. 

1754. Selectmen directed to take measures for the de- 

struction of wolves. Assessors chosen this year 
distinct from the selectmen. 

1755. The town having grown more sympathetic towards 

the canine tribe, a bounty of 5s. " to encourage 
the keeping of dogs," was severally paid to 
eighty-eight persons, amounting to £22 lawful 
money. 
1757. The selectmen licensed a slau^g-hter-house belong- 

ing to Benjamin Raymond. The town hired part 
of a house for the use of two families of French 
neutrals. 

1765. Widow Priscilla Trask appointed pound-keeper. 

1766. The selectmen were authorized to purchase a 

gravel-pit of John Dodge. 

1767. A powder-house built on the south side of the 

common. 
1769. Feb. 11. Harbor frozen over down to Baker's Island. 



CHRONOLOGICAL APPENDIX. 319 

1775. Capt. Hugh Hill took and brought into Beverly, 

schooner Industry, Capt. Francis Butler. The 
cargo was sold in conformity to existing rules, 
and the vessel delivered to the order of General 
Washington for the public service. Robert Has- 
kell, a native of this town, obtained permission of 
the General Court to return to Yarmouth, N. S., 
where he resided. The General Court ordered 
two half-barrels powder to be delivered to Josiah 
Batchelder, jr. to replace so much loaned the 
province by the town. The selectmen of Water- 
town delivered 2^ barrels to Col. Henry Herrick 
for the use of the town. The town paid for 47 
gallons of rum used in building tlie breastwork 
at Woodberry's head. 
About the last of November, this year, Capt. Man- 
ly, in the Lee privateer, captured and brought into 
Cape Ann harbor the British brig Nancy, bound 
from London to Boston, laden with warlike stores, 
among which were 2000 muskets, 2 six-pounder 
cannon, 3000 twelve-pound shot, 20,000 one- 
pound do., and a 13-inch brass mortar. The cargo 
was conveyed to Cambridge for the use of the 
army, to which it proved a valuable and timely 
acquisition. The mortar was named the Congress, 
and was " pronounced to be the noblest piece of 
ordnance ever landed in America." 

J 777. The town voted to give £14 to each non-commis- 

sioned officer and private who would enlist in 
the continental army for three years, or during the 
war ; and £4 additional to such as had been in the 
army and would re-enlist. Provision was made 
for barracks to accommodate tlie seacoast men 
stationed at Woodberry's point. £300 were voted 
to supply the families of the non-commissioned 
oflficers and privates belonging to this town, en- 
listed in the continental army. The next year 
£200 were appropriated to the same purpose. 

April 1. The General Court refused the petition of the 

committee of inspection for leave to sell the cof- 
fee that had a long time been stored according to 



320 CHRONOLOGICAL APPENDIX. 

the rule adopted in such cases. Thomas Wood- 
berry and others petitioned the General Court and 
obtained liberty to send the schooner Swallow to 
tlie West Indies with lumber and fish to exchange 
for molasses, cotton and salt, which were much 
wanted in town. 

1778. Price of labor on the highways fixed at 18s. pr day. 

1779. This year forty men from this town were lost at 

sea, for which reason the town petitioned the 
General Court to be released from its obligation 
to furnish the quota required for the army. A 
sum not exceeding £12000 was voted for procur- 
ing men for the army. In succeeding years, 
sums varying from £5000 to £50,000, were pro- 
vided for the same purpose. Labor on the high- 
ways fixed at 30s. per day. 

1780. The selectmen were directed to purchase five 

horses for the public service. To encourage 
enlistment, the town offered a bounty of 100 lbs. 
sugar, 100 lbs. coffee, 10 bushels corn, 100 lbs. 
beef and 50 lbs. cotton, or £1370 in money ; but 
this not proving a sufficient inducement, (^7 lbs. 
of coffee were afterwards added, and the bounty 
in money increased to £1611 4s. Price of labor 
on the highways fixed at £12 per day. Salt sold 
for £50 per bushel. 

1781. Sept. 15. The selectmen petitioned the General Court to 

decide whether Beverly or Rowley should have 
the service of William Campbell, a soldier, Avho 
after being hired by Beverly, let himself to Row- 
ley. The constables were directed to receive 
one silver dollar instead of $75 of the old conti- 
nental paper, and $\ of the new emission instead 
of $40 of the old. 

1783. French troops passed the night in the second par- 

ish, on their way to Portsmouth to embark for 
France. 

1784. Price of labor on the highways fixed at 5s. per day. 

A building on Woodberry's Point belonging to 
the town, given to Wm. Woodberry in full con- 
sideration for the use of his land, &c. 



CHRONOLOGICAL APPENDIX. 321 

1785. Four shillings and half a pint of rum alloAved by 

the town for a day's labor on the highways. 

1786. Two collectors of taxes chosen. Previously to 

this, the taxes had been collected by constables. 

1787. Bonfires prohibited under penalty of 10s. Select- 

men fixed the price of bread at 3 cents and 7 
mills per lb. First firewards chosen, viz : Joseph 
Lee, Moses Brown, Joseph Wood, Andrew and 
George Cabot. 

1790. Town divided into six school districts. Engine- 

men were excused from serving in town oflfices. 
Snow fell this year, Nov. 27, and laid till April 
15th following. 

3792. Capt. Gideon Rea returned from a fishing voyage 

in the Bay of St. Lawrence after five months 
absence, with 122,222 fish, making about 1200 
quintals. Mrs. Judith, " the amiable and virtu- 
ous consort of the late Col. Ebenezer Francis, 
died very much lamented," aged 43. 

1794. The selectmen were authorized to sell the old 

schoolhouse in Bass river district. Elias Smith, 
jr. died in the West Indies, " suffering under Brit- 
ish spoliations." Israel Dodge fell dead while 
driving a team, aged 21. 

1795. Jan. 20. William Bartlett, A. B. died, aged 30. Capt. Rob- 

ert H. Ives died at Lisbon. 

1798. The second parish granted a part of the parsonage 

for a gravel-pit. 

1799. The second parish granted the Bass river school 

district a site for a schoolhouse. 

1801. Dodge's Row school district formed. Hon. Israel 

Thorndike presented the second parish $100. 

1802. The town, for the first time, voted to assess the 

highway tax in connexion with the town tax for 
general purposes. Farms school district divided- 

1803. Washington street laid out. 

1806. Widening of the Chebacco road through Dodge's 

Row begun. 

1807, The present mode of warning town meetings by 

posting notices at each of the meeting-houses, 
adopted. 



322 CHRONOLOGICAL APPENDIX. 

1808. New powder-house built. April 16th, the snow 

three or four feet deep in many places. 

1809. Apr. 17. An infant tied up in a pillow-case found in tlie 

river near the bridge. 
1811. The road from Grove's hollow through Rial-side 

to Frost fish brook, laid out. 
18 J 2. Henry Fornis, his mother and sister, died at the 

hospital of small pox. 

1816. Juno Larcom, " a half Indian and half negro wo- 

man," died, aged 92. 

July 19. John Joseph, a son of Rev. Dr. Abbot, drowned, 

aged 4 years and 5 months. 

1817. Feb. 14 and 15. Thermometer at 18 deg. below zero. 
182.3. Town voted a bounty of 12^ cents per head for all 

crows killed. 
Aug. 4. Deborah Larrico killed by lightning. 

1828. The road leading from the main street by Pyam 

Lovett's house, accepted by the town. 

1829. Jan. 12. Mrs. Dr. Fisher died, aged 71. 

1834. Dec. 10. Robert Thorndike, a native of Beverly, died at 

Camden, Me., aged 100 years and 5 months. 
183.5. Jan. 4. Thermometer before sunrise 18 deg. below zero- 

Jan. 31. Thermometer before sunrise 58 deg. above zero — 

sharp lightning and much rain. 

1836. Jan. 19. Jonathan Smith died aged 68. He was appointed 

Justice of the Peace in 1807, and was for many 
years surveyor of the customs and post-master. 

1837. July 6. Barn of Elliot Woodberry burnt, supposed by 

lightning. 

Aug. 15. John Huddle killed by the explosion of a rock 

while in the act of charging. 

1838. Dec. 9, Wm. Leach, grandson of John Leach, died 

aged 80. 

Mar. 16. Hannah Hill died. 

1841. Aug.20.Hale Hilton died, aged 81. He was a fifer in Capt. 

. Low's company. 

1842. Apr. 25. Joseph Woodberry, a descendant of the earliest 

settlers of that name, dropped down dead in his 
yard, aged 75. 

Aug. Samuel Cole, a revolutionary pensioner, died aged 

90 years. 





INDEX. 






Topography, 




. . - 


- Page 1—12 


Settlement, - 


- 


- 


- 


13 


Roger Conant, - 




. 




16—21 


John, Josiah and William "Woodberry. 




21—23 


John Balch, 




- 




- 23 


Richard Brackenbary, 


- 


• 




24 


Capt. Thomas Lothrop, - 




- 




25—28 


Lawrence Leach, 


- 


- 




29 


Mason's Claim, - 




- 




29—31 


John Lovett, 


- 


- 




31 


Canada Expedition, 1690, 








- 32 


Imprisonment of Hill, 


- 


- 




33 


Andrew Elliot, - 








34—36 


Robert Briscoe, 


. 


- 




36 


Col. Robert Hale, 








38—56 


Revolutionary Period, 


- 


. 




54—88 


Col. Henry Herrick, 






- 5, 


5, 65, 88 


Battle of Lexington, 


- 


- 




61—63 


Attack on Beverly, 




. 




64—66 


Capts. Giles, Smith, Hill, : 


Lovett and Tittle, 




70—73 


Col. Ebenezer Francis, - 




. 




73-79 


Col. John Francis, - 


- 


- 




79 


Ebenezer Rea, - 




. 




80—82 


Female Riot, 


- 






83—85 


First Cotton Factory, 




. 




- 85 


Dark Day, - 


- 






86 


Washington's Birth-day, 




. 




- 90 


Neutrality, 1793, - 


- 






90 


Settlement of Ohio, 




- 




- 91 


Alert taken at Santander, 


- 






93 


Small Pox, 




- 




- 93 


Fourth July, 1807, - 


. 




- 


95 


Joseph Wood, 




. 




- 96 


Embargo, 1808, 


- 




- 


97 


Josiah Batchelder, Jr. 




. 




- 97 


William Burley, 


- 




- 


100 


La Fayette's Visit, 




- 


- 


- 101 



324 INDEX. 

Fourth July, 1835, - - . - . Page 102—104 

Public Buildings and Essex Bridge, - - - 105 — 110 

Schools and Academy, - . - . HO — 119 

College Graduates, ...... 119 

Libraries, Reading Room and Lyceum, - - 120 — 123 

MERCHANTS. 

George, Andrew and John Cabot, Moses Brown, Israel 

Thorndike, Joseph Lee, John and Thos. Stephens, 123 — 134 

THE BAR. 

Nathan Dane and William Thorndike, - - - 135—151 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Physicians from 1677 to 1842, - - - 155—168 

Militaiy, 168—178 

Temperance, ..... 178—181 

Charitable and other Associations, ... 181 — 186 

Fire Department, --.... 186 

Streets, - - - . - . . - 187 

Burial Grounds, ..... 188—191 

Common Lands, - . . . . - 191 

Representatives, -.-... 192 

Stocks, - - - - . . . - 193 

Diseases, Deaths, Marriages, - - - 195 — 197 

Population, &cc. - - • - - . - 197 

Agriculture, - - - . . . 198 

Valuation, Manufactures, Commerce, &:c. - - 200 — 203 

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

The First Parish, including Notices of witchcraft, of 

Messrs. Hale, Blowers, Willard, McKean, Abbot, &c. - 204 

Second Parish, including Notices of Messrs. Chipman, 

Hitchcock, Dow, &c. - - - - - 256 

Baptist Church, - - . - . - - 286 

Dane Street Church, .... - 289 

Farms Church, ..-..-. 295 
Fourth Congregational Church, .... 296 

Washington Street Church, - - - - - 297 

Sabbath Schools, ----.- 299 

Conclusion, ....... 303 

Notes and Appendix, - . , - . 310 



